COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE ISSUES CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON REPORT OF THE LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA, HEARS RESPONSES FROM EGYPT

AFTERNOON
HR/CAT/99/21
10 May 1999



The Committee against Torture this afternoon praised the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya for ensuring that the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment were mostly incorporated into its domestic laws.

However, Bent Sorensen, who served as the Committee's rapporteur on Libya’s report, said the Committee was concerned that neither the report nor the country's delegation had addressed questions about prolonged incommunicado detention and continued allegations of torture in the State party.

The positive aspects and the concerns were relayed as the Committee issued its conclusions and recommendations on the report of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Among the Committee's recommendations were for the Government to allow a prisoner free access to a lawyer and doctors of his choice, as well as access to his relatives at all stages of detention, and for the State to rigorously investigate and prosecute torturous offenses committed by public officials.

Also this afternoon, the Committee heard responses to questions it posed to the delegation of Egypt during its presentation last week.

Sanaa Khalil of the Ministry of Justice of Egypt, said there was no systematic pattern of torture in the country. The Convention had been integrated into domestic legislation and the State was continuing its efforts in this field. In 1998, for example, Egypt had added two new provisions to its penal code, establishing penalties for intimidation and for the threat to use force to obtain a confession.

Further, Mr. Khalil said, a report that a Special Rapporteur had been turned down for a visit to Egypt was not true. The Government and the rapporteur were unable to settle on a suitable date for the visit.

The delegation of Egypt will return at 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 12 April to hear the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations on its report. The Committee meet at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 11 May to consider a draft plan of action.

Conclusions and Recommendations on the Report of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

BENT SORENSEN, who served as the Committee’s rapporteur on the report, noted with satisfaction that the legal provisions of the State party generally conformed with the requirements of the Convention. Progress had been made in the efforts to improve education and information regarding prohibition against torture in the training of law enforcement personnel as well as medical personnel, and he praised the fact that corporal punishment had not been used in recent years.

Mr. Sorensen, however, said it was a subject of concern that neither the report nor the information presented orally by the delegation provided the Committee with comments and answers that addressed substantially the subjects of concern indicated and the recommendations made by the Committee when dealing with the second periodic report of the State party in 1994. Consequently, the Committee reiterated concerns that prolonged incommunicado detention, in spite of the legal provisions regulating it, still seemed to create conditions which could lead to violations of the Convention, and that allegations of torture in the State party continued to be received by the Committee.

Further, Mr. Sorensen said that it was a matter of concern for the Committee that, in practice, the State party had, in one incident, extradited persons to a country where there were substantive grounds for believing that they were in danger of being subjected to torture. The Committee did not agree with the State party that it was legally obliged to do so. It was also a matter of concern that the wording of article 206 of the Penal Code could be an obstacle to the creation of independent human rights non-governmental organizations.

The Committee encouraged the Libyan Government to consider making the declarations provided under articles 21 and 22 of the Convention, and recommended that the law and practices of the State party be brought in line with article 3 of the Convention. It also recommended that the Libyan authorities guarantee the free access of a person deprived of his liberty to a lawyer and to a doctor of his choice and to his relatives at all stages of detention. It also said that the State party should send a clear message to all its law-enforcement personnel that torture was not permitted under any circumstances. In addition, those who committed the offense of torture should be subjected to a prompt and impartial investigation and rigorously prosecuted in accordance with the law. Finally, the Committee concluded that although corporal punishment had not been practised in recent years, it should be abolished by law.

Responses from Egypt

Sanaa Khalil, of the Ministry of Justice of Egypt, said a question had been raised about the absence in the report of the number of cases of torture. Torture was not systematic in Egypt. The State had its own institutions which were based on democratic beliefs. It was the responsibility of the Government to show the utmost respect to the Constitution. The judicial and legislative framework, which was praised by the Committee, tried to ensure the rights to compensation of all victims. There were specialized bodies in the area of human rights in the Foreign Ministry and in the office of the Prosecutor General. These offices cooperated to investigate allegations. The Government continued to cooperate with all international organizations and other bodies to ensure there was sufficient training for all law enforcement agencies. Cases of abuses in the field of human rights and basic freedoms were limited and small in number.

Mr. Khalil said in articles 1 through 6, there was a specific reference to torture. There was a lot of debate on the matter, but the courts in Egypt had clearly and resolutely interpreted the description of torture as in line with the Convention. Following the ratification of the Convention, it had become part of national legislation. In 1998, a new law was promulgated by adding two articles to the penal code. The first one related to intimidation, where minimum punishment for such practices was one year. The other crime was the threat to use force to obtain certain confessions. If that threat became physical, it would be taken into account. Coercion and the threat to use force were also punishable in the new penal code. There were articles about using force against women and minors. All of these aspects, even if not intended to obtain a confession, were enforceable.

Mr. Khalil said there were no conditions under which a person could be extradited if torture was a threat. Egypt was in full compliance with the Convention. These principles had been incorporated into the Constitution which forbade the Government from handing over a person to another country where it was believed he or she would be subject to torture. Egypt was also fully committed to article 5 of the Convention concerning criminal jurisdiction.

In response to another question about whether a confession was the common factor in a criminal trial, Mr. Khalil said the answer was that the confession should be sound and should emanate from a free will. It was the prosecutor's job to make sure a confession could be used as evidence. Therefore, Egyptian law and Egyptian courts ensured that such evidence had been properly obtained before it could be used for a conviction. As for whether Egypt was reconsidering the state of emergency, he pointed out that the Government foresaw the consequences of emergency laws. At the same time, terrorism had become a worldwide phenomenon and seriously violated human rights. It deprived persons of their right to life and destroyed security, safety and private property.

Mr. Khalil said the penal code treated women in a special manner when they were the victims of crimes like rape. Recently, a law was enacted that removed a provision which said a kidnapper could not be punished if he married the women he kidnapped or raped. As for claims that police kidnapped women to extract information, that was considered to be the equal of torture. There were laws that penalized acts of intimidation and threats.

He said there were some cases that were brought up by the Special Rapporteur last November. Some replies to those had been offered, but there were also some delays with other replies. Egypt had not refused to see the Special Rapporteur. The date of his visit was not convenient. The whole matter was about finding a suitable date.

Mr. Khalil then turned the answers over to other members of the delegation who said the Ministry of Interior, from mid-1997 to April 1999, had issued several pamphlets about the need to respect human rights. These reflected the reaction of the officials in the Ministry vis a vis incidents reported in the field. It was hoped that these pamphlets would improve performance and end violations. Five police officers had been referred to the Attorney General for torturous offenses last year. Three officers were referred to disciplinary boards.

The delegation added that police officers in Egypt received wide-ranging training and criminal justice education. Such training was given for four years. The degree awarded was in Criminal Studies. This gave the officer a great deal of information about criminal law. In addition, a number of seminars must be attended. Human rights were studied. Now they were one of the main subjects at schools for police. Officers also took courses during their career, depending on the nature of their specialization.

The delegation said that the Ministry of Interior had drafted plans to improve prisons. Prisons were routinely investigated by judicial authorities and misconduct was taken seriously. Complaints of mistreatment were required by law to be transmitted to the proper authorities. Nutrition in prisons was provided according to international levels. There were non-governmental organizations that cared for the prisoners and their families and they played an important role. Concerning the health care services provided, a doctor was available 24 hours at all prisons. Prisoners that required special treatment, like major surgery, were referred to teaching hospitals. The central hospital for prisons had recently been modernized.

On the question of long-term imprisonment sentences at labour, the delegation said this had become a name for something that no longer existed. Hard labour in the past had been associated with stone-breaking or mining. This had been replaced with other activities that took into consideration the qualifications and skills of each prisoner. All that was carried out with the aim of rehabilitating the prisoners so they could more easily move back into society at the end of their sentences. Physical punishment was no longer used. There were other punishments used, like incommunicado or solitary isolation. Occasionally, visits were curtailed.

The delegation said the emergency law and general law did not specify any immunities for police officers. They were liable to criminal actions and disciplinary penalties.

The delegation said there was an ordinary case of murder -- the case of El Kosheh – that had been exploited to create unnecessary media coverage. Fifteen persons said they were arrested and beaten and tortured in order to confess. Some reported that they were hit on the face and had electrodes put on parts of their bodies. They were examined and the medical reports said that although the first five persons suffered from a skin disease, they exhibited no signs of being tortured. Two others were examined and it was also shown that there were no injuries inflicted upon them. For another plaintiff, there was nothing to contradict what he alleged, but he said he had a broken foot from a previous car accident. The prosecutor's office welcomed complaints by plaintiffs, but they had to be verified.

The delegation said another case was brought up concerning the death of a detainee at a police centre. The investigation had finally reached a conclusion that a number of crimes had been carried out by six security personnel, and the prosecutor-general had referred them to the criminal courts. The date of the trial was being arranged for the next session. The prosecutor-general's office was touring prisons to see their general condition.

The delegation said capital punishment was carried out by hanging. Information about how often it was carried out in the past few years was not immediately available. That information would be coming shortly.