The case of Adolphe Niyongabo v. Burundi. The decision of the UN Committee against Torture dated April 11, 2025. Message No. 1007/2020. The author claimed, in particular, that the State party had failed to conduct a prompt and effective investigation into the allegations of torture. The Committee found violations of certain provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The legal position of the UN Committee against Torture is that any person deprived of liberty should be able to promptly receive independent legal and medical assistance and contact relatives in order to prevent torture (paragraph 8.2 of the Decision).
The Committee recalls that article 14 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment not only recognizes the right to fair and adequate compensation, but also provides for the obligation of States parties to ensure that victims of torture receive appropriate compensation. The Committee recalls that this compensation must necessarily cover all the damage caused to the victim, including restitution, compensation and measures to ensure non-repetition of violations, taking into account the circumstances of each particular case (paragraph 8.7 of the Decision).
Assessment by the UN Committee against Torture of the factual circumstances of the case: the applicant's statement that for about four hours he was beaten by four police officers, who inflicted severe blows on his buttocks, legs, arms and back with boots and pieces of cable. The Committee also noted: (a) that the author suffered from the lack of proper care and unsanitary conditions of detention; (b) that the police officers did not allow the staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide medical assistance to the complainant; (c) That he was held in inadequate conditions in the prison premises and was deprived, inter alia, of access to medical care for two and a half years. The Committee also found that during the twelve days spent in the premises of the police and the National Intelligence Service, the applicant was unable to see his lawyer and his relatives. In these circumstances, the Committee concluded that the facts, as presented by the complainant, constituted torture within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention (paragraph 8.2 of the Judgment).
The Committee found that the State authorities had failed to take any measures to investigate the acts of torture to which the applicant had been subjected and to impose appropriate penalties for them, despite his complaints to the court and the Prosecutor's Office (paragraph 8.3 of the Decision).
The Committee has drawn attention to the fact that, in the absence of any relevant information to the contrary from the State party, the facts of the appalling conditions and ill-treatment described in the communication are sufficient to establish that the State party did not systematically monitor the detention and treatment of persons arrested, detained or imprisoned by any means in any territory under his jurisdiction, in order to avoid any cases of torture and that this non-compliance resulted in harm to the author of the communication (paragraph 8.4 of the Judgment).
Despite the fact that he reported torture to the judges and through an official lawsuit against the prosecutor and appeared during interrogation with obvious signs of torture, nine years after the alleged events, no investigation was conducted (paragraph 8.5 of the Decision).
In view of the fact that no prompt and impartial investigation was conducted in the present case, despite the obvious material evidence of torture inflicted on the author, which went unpunished, the Committee concluded that the State party had violated its obligations under article 14 of the Convention (paragraph 8.7 of the Decision).
Conclusions of the UN Committee against Torture: The facts presented testified to a violation by the State party of article 2, paragraph 1, and articles 11-14, considered in conjunction with article 1, as well as article 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.