A/HRC/42/49 failure to respect procedural guarantees and time limits prescribed by law. Prisoners who have served their sentences or who have received presidential pardons have continued to be held arbitrarily, mainly those convicted on political grounds. 3. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment 38. Torture and ill-treatment persist throughout the country. Particularly serious cases of torture have concerned young men accused of collaborating with opposition armed groups, spying (often because they have spent time in exile or living abroad) or campaigning actively for a “No” vote in the constitutional referendum. Such acts have generally been committed by officers of the National Intelligence Service and the police during arbitrary arrests or detentions. 39. At the time of the May 2018 constitutional referendum, numerous men and women of all ages were subjected to torture or ill-treatment by Imbonerakure, often acting alone but sometimes with police officers or local administrative officials. These persons were suspected of not having voted “Yes” or had refused to join CNDD-FDD or the Imbonerakure. Members of the Congrès national pour la liberté and recently returned refugees were also targeted. 40. Some victims were kicked or beaten with sticks or batons on different parts of their bodies, while others were wounded with sharp objects. In several cases, the torture took the form of sexual violence, including rape, accompanied by threats, among them death threats, intimidation and verbal abuse, sometimes of an ethnically charged nature. 41. Overcrowding, lack of food and insufficient access to drinking water, sanitation and health care have persisted in prisons and in the police and National Intelligence Service cells. These conditions continue to constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. 4. Sexual violence 42. Numerous cases of sexual violence have been documented; the majority of victims were women and girls. Such violence most often took the form of gang rape, the perpetrators being for the most part Imbonerakure and, in one case, military personnel. Some of these rapes were committed at night in victims’ homes, in front of their children and other members of their families, and generally involved other violations of physical integrity as well as, sometimes, the abduction or execution of the family member considered to be the head of household. Other women were raped while travelling in the course of their daily activities or attempting to flee the country. In many cases, the victim was told that she or her family members would be killed if she resisted, called for help or reported the rape. The victims, some of whom had recently returned to Burundi, were targeted on account of their affiliation – real or perceived – or that of a family member with the opposition or with a rebel movement, their refusal to join CNDD-FDD or the Imbonerakure, non-payment of contributions or a “No” vote in the May 2018 constitutional referendum. These acts, committed for a specific purpose such as intimidation or punishment because of the victim’s supposed political views, constitute acts of torture. 43. The majority of the rape cases occurred in rural areas. Most of the victims recognized their attackers as local Imbonerakure who had intimidated them or their relatives on one or more occasions in the past. However, none of the victims reported her attackers. 44. Sexual violence in the form of violence applied to the genital area or forced nudity has continued to be committed by officers of the National Intelligence Service against men held in the Service’s cells, under its responsibility, over periods ranging from a few weeks to several years. 45. The physical and psychological consequences of sexual violence are manifold and, while several victims received basic medical care in the aftermath – often thanks to the intervention of neighbours or relatives – few women and no men have received appropriate treatment. The stigmatization of women and girls who are victims of sexual violence has a negative impact on their enjoyment of the other rights already affected by the persistence in Burundi of multiple forms of discrimination against women. GE.19-13419 9