A/HRC/40/CRP.1 8. Post-Release Surveillance Even after detainees have been released, many of them continue to be under surveillance and threat. Some are required to report regularly to the security services or are prohibited from travelling. Furthermore, a number of witnesses told the Commission of being detained on multiple occasions of the course of many years. Some witnesses recounted attempts to re-arrest them, resulting in them living in hiding or continuously relocating. Others continue to be harassed, threatened and surveilled including in neighbouring countries. One witness told the Commission: I started receiving phone calls. I was traumatised […]. Each time, a man talking in Arabic would tell me: “I know [where] you are, we have our people there, surrender or we will come to take you back to South Sudan”. I have never gone back to South Sudan since then and I keep moving […]. The last call that I received was on 31 December 2018. I am very scared.442 9. Lasting Effects of Arbitrary Detention, Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment Even after release, detainees have continued to suffer the consequences of their detention and have struggled to rebuild their lives. In addition to ongoing threats and surveillance discussed above, former detainees continue to suffer from physical and psychological trauma as well as difficulty rebuilding careers and family connections after long periods of absence. As one witness put it: “Anyone who tells you that life is normal after being detained isn’t telling the truth.”443 The Commission has found upon medical examination of a number of released detainees that many survivors continued to exhibit physical and psychological symptoms consistent with sustained torture and inhuman detention conditions. Additionally, some continued to suffer from curable skin infections, fungal diseases and scabies likely acquired while in detention, due to inadequate access to health care for prolonged periods of time. A number of those to whom the Commission spoke expressed the need for psychological support after their release: I never actually went for the counseling services because I thought my case wasn’t as bad as it could have been. However, after seeing the way it has affected me, it is important for employers and health care providers to follow up with others who have had similar experiences of being detained.444 The effects of prolonged and arbitrary detention not only has an effect on detainees themselves but also their families. One witness mourned: You can walk out of detention and find that your family is not where you left them, you no longer have a house and you don’t know how to re-start your life... your life can end up in a total mess […] My life has been brought to zero. All of the resources I had accumulated are now gone. […] I am completely starting over with nothing. My children are not being educated... The time when they were supposed to receive the best education in their lives is now over... I was supposed to provide for them as their father. The trauma still resides inside of me because when I go home, there is no food. My children just look at me... I used to be a real father who could provide for them and now my children just stare at me... What did I do for my whole family to deserve this punishment and suffering? […] If I was to be taken to court, I should have been taken to court, but I was tortured inside of there and just released like nothing happened… If I was a criminal, I would not be sad… but this is my pain… the life my family had, compared to the life they live today is a shock to them. I wish there was some form of justice…445 442 Witness 1070, ERN 102270-102274, para. 13. Witness 960, ERN 102089-102111. 444 Witness 906, ERN 101769-101782, para. 38. 445 Witness 950, ERN 101955-101979. 443 69