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in Santurce in the Basque province, writing on behalf of their son J. E. and his wife E. B., who
are currently detained at the Spanish prisons of Orense and Albacete, respectively. By power of
attorney of 31 December 1993, Mr. E. authorized his parents to act on his behalf and on behalf
of his wife.
The facts as submitted by the authors:
2.1 The authors, who reside in the same apartment complex as did the alleged victims, claim
that on 29 January 1992, at six in the morning, members of the Spanish police blew up the door
of J. E.'s apartment and arrested him and his wife in their bedroom. J. E. was taken to the
Guardia Civil in Bilbao and later Madrid and kept incommunicado for five days, during which
he was allegedly subjected to torture and ill treatment, including beatings to the head, electrical
shocks to the head, testicles and other parts of the body. His head was allegedly put into a
plastic bag until he had almost been asphyxiated. His wife remained in the apartment while the
police officers carried out a search, which lasted until approximately 9.30 in the morning, at
which time she too was taken into custody. Upon arrival at the police station, she was allegedly
hooded and left in a room for a long period of time, she was undressed by force and handcuffed.
On 30 January she and her husband were driven to Madrid, where beatings and electric shocks
allegedly continued during 96 hours of intermittent interrogation. As a consequence of the
maltreatment her menstrual period commenced two weeks ahead of time, but she was not
allowed to clean herself. Meanwhile Mr. E. was allegedly hung upside down from a lamp, until
he lost consciousness, and a Guardia Civil officer forced a revolver barrel into his mouth and
shot, without a bullet. Psychotropic drugs were allegedly administered to him with his food,
with the result that he started to hallucinate.
2.2 With regard to the exhaustion of domestic remedies, it is stated that the alleged victims
made reference to the alleged tortures when they were brought before Judge I. M. C. It is
reported that once J. E. removed his shoe in front of the judge in order to show the black points
left by the instruments utilized when administering electric shocks. The authors appeal to the
Committee against Torture with the specific complaint that the competent judicial authorities in
Spain, in particular the judges and forensic experts, have failed to investigate the alleged
violations, thus permitting the torturers to operate with impunity.
2.3 During the period of detention of the alleged victims and of 14 other persons in Bilbao, an
official of the World Organization against Torture wanted to visit them, but permission was
reportedly denied.
2.4 On 12 November 1993 Mr. E. was allegedly subjected to ill treatment at Orense prison. An
official investigation is in progress.
State party's observations:
3.1 By submissions of 1 September, 17 December 1993, 24 January and 19 April 1994, the
State party argues that the communication is inadmissible under article 22, paragraph 5 (b), of
the Convention, because the authors have not exhausted domestic remedies. The State party
states that the authors have seven lawyers and that they did not file any complaint with the
Spanish authorities, as provided for under Spanish law. However, the State party submits that
Spanish courts started ex officio investigations, even if the alleged victims did not do so. An ex
officio investigation into the possible ill treatment of Mrs. E. was conducted under case No.
205/92, including through the examination of contemporary medical reports. The Juzgado de
Instrucción No. 44 invited Mrs. E. to participate in this judicial investigation, but she declined.
The investigation failed to reveal any misconduct on the part of the Guardia Civil and was
closed in January 1993.
3.2 With regard to the alleged ill treatment of Mr. E. on 12 November 1993, the State party
submits that Mr. E. filed a complaint with the Juzgado de Guardia de Leon on 27 November
1993, 15 days after the alleged events. The matter is currently under judicial investigation under
No. 865/93. The State party forwards copies of the relevant documents.
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26.02.2008