A/HRC/39/41 91. Following their collaboration with the Committee, Ms. Tannagasheva and Mr. Tannagashev were subject to harassment and intimidation by authorities of the Kemerovo district and representatives of Yuzhnaya coal company. They were urged by the police to renounce their activities, and were placed under surveillance by the police and security service, and had their phones tapped. Threats were made by security service agents concerning their children, and their relatives and friends were summoned for questioning. Further, Ms. Tannagasheva was dismissed from her job as a teacher at a local school and her house was burned down in a suspected arson attack, following which no investigation took place. As a result, both fled the country with their children out of fear for their safety. The Committee expressed their grave concern for the allegations of reprisals against Ms. Tannagasheva and Mr. Tannagashev, which appear to be a direct consequence of their engagement with the Committee. At the time of writing the Government had not responded to the Chair and the Focal Point for Reprisals of the Committee. 22. Rwanda 92. On 20 October 2017, the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) announced publicly that it had suspended its visit to Rwanda “due to a series of obstructions imposed by authorities, such as accessing some places of detention, confidentiality of certain interviews and over concerns that some interviewees could face reprisals.” 20 The Subcommittee reported that during its visit the experts encountered an especially difficult environment to undertake private interviews with detainees and many detainees expressed to them a fear of reprisals for cooperating with them. In some cases, detainees refused to be interviewed at all for fear of subsequent retaliation against them. Before the suspension of the visit, the Subcommittee and OHCHR Secretariat made several attempts to address the above-mentioned concerns with the Ministry of Justice, to no avail. According to its mandate under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), the Subcommittee can make unannounced visits at any place where people are or might be deprived of their liberty in countries which are a party to the Protocol, including prisons, police stations, detention centers for migrants, juveniles’ detention centers, interrogation facilities, and psychiatric hospitals. 93. At its thirty-fourth session in February 2018, the the Subcommittee announced its intention to resume the visit to Rwanda. 21 However, due to the lack of cooperation of the authorities in the resumption of the visit, at its thirty-fifth session in June 2018, the Subcommittee decided to terminate the visit as there was no prospect of the visit being successfully resumed or concluded. It is the first time in 11 years and more that 60 country visits that the Subcommittee had to terminate a visit before its completion. 22 94. On 1 June 2018 the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights wrote to the Government expressing concern about the lack of assurances given to the SPT that those interviewed or contacted during the visit would not face intimidation and reprisals for cooperating with the SPT members and OHCHR Secretariat, and requesting information on the welfare of the detainees involved in the visit. On 18 June 2018 the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern by the suspension of the visit, and called on Rwanda to provide full cooperation so that the Subcommittee can fulfil its mandate. 23 On 27 June 2018 the Government responded to the Assistant Secretary-General that the SPT had “full and unimpeded access to places of detention and detainees” and has put in place “prevention and investigatory measures to respond to allegations of reprisals.” The Government noted that it had underwent its own investigation into the conditions that led to the suspension of the visit, including the allegations of reprisals, and found them without base. The Government further referred to its letter of 23 October 2017 to the SPT which noted that technical issues that arose during the five-day visit were resolved. 20 21 22 23 36 OHCHR, “Prevention of Torture: UN human rights body suspends Rwanda visit citing obstructions,” 20 October 2017. OHCHR, “UN torture prevention experts announce resuming visit to Rwanda,” 28 February 2018. OHCHR, “UN torture prevention body to visit Burundi, Costa Rica, Senegal and Switzerland; terminates Rwanda visit”, 4 July 2018 OHCHR, “Opening statement and global update of human rights concerns by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein at 38th session of the Human Rights Council,” 18 June 2018. GE.18-13325