A/HRC/6/19 page 63 stations near Kunduwa (five kilometers of Nyala) and in Al Salaam camp, on 14 and 19 August, respectively. At least 35 people were arrested during the police operation. During the swoop, riot police blocked the road between Nyala and Kalma camp. NISS officers turned away a joint AMIS/UN patrol, which had gone to investigate the incidents. The majority of the arrestees were not informed of the grounds for their arrest, charges were not brought against them, nor were they brought before a judicial authority, and they were not afforded access to legal representation. Interviewed detainees reported the use of excessive force during their arrest, including beatings with butts of guns and sticks. Several detainees reported that they were beaten with their hands tied behind their back during interrogation by NISS officers, continuously insulted and forced to eat mud. Only one of all people detained had charges laid against him. Even these charges were eventually dropped for lack of evidence in a court hearing by the Nyala Specialized Court on 18 September 2007. In North Darfur, four cases were documented of arbitrary detention by rebel forces, three of them by SLA/MM, nine cases of ill-treatment in detention, of which eight were by SLA/MM and one by Government military authorities; three cases of abduction, one by militia and two by non-signatory rebel factions. Civilians in areas under SLA/MM control have also been arbitrarily detained, subjected to ill-treatment, denied minimum legal guarantees and exposed to abuses under the SLA/MM criminal justice system. Commonly documented cases involved civilians having been detained over civil matters, held for crimes committed by family members or short of a proper investigation, on the mere suspicion of having committed an offense. In a SLA/MM police station in Zamzam, North Darfur, a 78 year old male was detained on 11 July 2007 for failing to pay compensation related to a homicide case. The detainee had acted as a mediator and guarantor for the suspected offender, but he was not directly involved in the case in any other way. The detainee, who had been in custody for nearly a month when interviewed by UN staff, had not had the opportunity to appear before a judicial authority. Also, in North Darfur, in Tawila, a prominent community leader was arrested and detained by SLA/MM for 29 days without being charged with an offense. He was first arrested on 30 May, placed in an SLA/MM detention facility near Tabit for two days, where he was severely beaten. On 27 June 2007, he was brought to another prison in Zamzam and released the next day. The SLA/MM accused him of organizing a violent demonstration in Tawila and also collecting money from the IDPs on behalf of SLA/AW. The man, however, indicated to UN interviewers that he believed he was arrested because of his stance against SLA/MM abuses in IDP camps. Of equal concern has been the practice of mistreatment of detainees in SLA/MM facilities for example as regards the aftermath of an incident which occurred on 13 June 2007. A man accused of stealing livestock died in Shangil Tobayi as a result of severe ill-treatment by SLA/MM soldiers. The man was detained with two other people, who were severely beaten. The men had their hands tied behind their back with rope, while they were beaten with sticks all over their bodies until becoming unconscious. Initially, the SLA/MM representative at the AMIS/Shangil Tobayi and the SLA/MM legal adviser confirmed the death, but alleged that the deceased had been killed by Zaghawa herdsmen. At a subsequent meeting, on 26 June 2007, an SLA/MM representative provided UN staff with a copy of the death certificate, issued by SLA officials in Thabit. The SLA/MM representative further informed UN staff that four to five police officers had been detained and were pending an investigation over the murder. However, a later attack on Thabit in July forced the SLA/MM presence to evacuate, and it then became