CAT/C/31/D/187/2001
Page 3
Facts as submitted by the complainant
2.1
The complainant states that he was an active member of the Islamist organization
ENNAHDA (formerly MTI). Following a wave of arrests in Tunisia, which commenced in 1990
and was targeted in particular against members of this organization, he went into hiding from 27
February 1991. On 6 April 1991, at 1 a.m., he was arrested and severely beaten by the police,
who kicked, slapped and punched him and struck him with truncheons.
2.2
Incarcerated in the basement cells in the Interior Ministry (DST) building in Tunis and
deprived of sleep, the complainant was taken, the following morning, to the office of the
Director of State Security, Ezzedine Jneyeh. According to the complainant, this official
personally ordered his interrogation under torture.
2.3
The complainant provides a detailed description, accompanied by sketches, of the
different types of torture to which he was subjected until 4 June 1991 in the premises of the
Interior Ministry (DST).
2.4
The complainant describes what is customarily known as the “roast chicken” position, in
which the victim is stripped naked, his hands tied and his legs folded between his arms, with an
iron bar placed behind his knees, from which he is then suspended between two tables. In this
position he was subjected to beatings, in particular on the soles of his feet, until he passed out.
The complainant adds that the policemen inflicting this torture would then bring him round by
throwing cold water over his body and by applying ether to sensitive areas, such as his buttocks
and testicles.
2.5
The complainant also claims to have been tortured in the “upside-down” position,
whereby the victim is stripped, hands tied behind his back and suspended from the ceiling by a
rope tied to one or both of his feet, with his head hanging downwards. In this position he was
kicked and struck with sticks and whips until he passed out. He adds that his torturers tied a
piece of string to his penis which they then repeatedly tugged, as if to tear his penis off.
2.6
The complainant claims to have been subjected to immersion torture, in which the victim
is suspended upside-down from a hoist and immersed in a tank of water mixed with soap
powder, bleach and sometimes even urine and salt; the victim is unable to breathe and is
therefore forced to keep swallowing this mixture until his stomach is full. He states that he was
then kicked in the stomach until he vomited.
2.7
The complainant also maintains that he was tortured in the “scorpion” position, in which
the victim is stripped, his hands and feet tied behind his back, and then lifted by his torturers,
face downwards, with a chain hoist, while pressure is applied to his spine. He states that, in this
position, he was beaten and whipped on his legs, arms, stomach and genitals.
2.8
The complainant also claims to have been subjected to “table torture”, in which he was
stripped, made to lie flat on his back or stomach on a long table, with his arms and legs tied
down, and was then beaten.