D. (name deleted) v. France, Communication No. 45/1996,
U.N. Doc. CAT/C/19/D/45/1996 (1997).
Communication No. 45/1996
Submitted by: D. (name deleted) (represented by AFIDRA)
Alleged victim: The author
State party: France
Date of communication: 13 December 1995
The Committee against Torture, established under article 17 of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment,
Meeting on 10 November 1997,
Adopts the following decision:
Decision on admissibility
1. The author of the communication is D., a citizen of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), born on 25 May 1959, currently
residing in France. He is represented by the Association pour la formation,
l'insertion et le développement rural en Afrique (AFIDRA).
Facts submitted by the author
2. The Association states that D. is a member of the Union pour la
démocratie et le Progrès Social and participated in activities for that party in
Zaire, such as printing leaflets and posters. On 13 February 1990, he was
arrested by the Division Spéciale Présidentielle (Special Presidential
Division) on the grounds of a breach of public order. He was held for three
months in prison without being tried or brought before a judge, and was
subjected to ill-treatment by his prison warders. The author states that after
his family intervened he was provisionally released on 20 May 1990 and
told to report to the police once a month. However, in his request to the
Office Francais de Protection des réfugiés et Apatrides (French Office for
the Protection of Refugees and Stateless People) on 16 August 1990, D.
stated that he had escaped from prison on 20 May 1990, and a "wanted"
notice confirming this statement is enclosed by the author.