Aboussedra v. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Title
Adam Hassan Aboussedra v. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Judicial Body/Court:
UN Human Rights Committee

Citation:
Communication No. 1751/2008

Date:
10 October 2007

Instruments Cited:
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Art. 2(3): Right to an effective remedy
Art. 7: Prohibition on torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Art. 9: Right to liberty and security of person
Art. 10(1): Duty to treat persons deprived of their liberty with humanity and respect for the dignity of the human person
Art. 14: Right to a fair and public trial
Art. 16: Right to recognition as a person before the law

Summary:
Dr. Adam Hassan Aboussedra (the author) brought a complaint on behalf of his brother, Mohamed Hassan Aboussadra, and his brothers wife and two children. The author alleged that his brother had been arrested by the State without a warrant of being informed of the grounds for his arrest and detained for 20 years, throughout which he was held incommunicado for years at a time and subjected to torture. The author also complained that his brother had been denied access to legal process and that he had not been released upon the orders of the courts. On behalf of Dr. Mohamed Hassan Aboussadra's wife and children, the author also complained that in being denied knowledge of the circumstances of Dr. Aboussandra, they had been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment. The State made no submissions to the Human Rights Committee with regards to the complaint and in the absence of such submissions the Committee considered the complaint without evidence from the State.

The Commission upheld the author's complaint that his brother had been subjected to torture and inhuman treatment throughout and because of his detention (art. 7) and that the rights of his wife and children under that article had also been violated as a result of the anguish and distress of the limited knowledge that they had of his circumstances. The Committee also found violations of Dr. Mohamed Hassan Aboussadra's right to liberty and security of person (art. 9), that his incommunicado detention constituted a refusal to treat him with respect and dignity as a human person, that he had not been treated in accordance with his fair trial rights (art. 14), and that the State had not provided an effective remedy for these violations (art. 2(3).

Link to Full Text Judgement:
http://www.worldcourts.com/hrc/eng/decisions/2010.10.25_Hassan_Aboussedra_v_Libya.pdf

This case summary is provided by the Child Rights International Network for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.