A/HRC/39/63 individuals including at least one person wearing a police uniform, has been a victim of enforced disappearance.10 The same appears to be true of Mouvement pour la solidarité et la démocratie members Bonaventure Havyarimana, Égide Habonimana, Lionel Hafashimana, Bénius Mbanyenimanga and Emmanuel Nyabenda, who were arrested in Bujumbura on 2 March 2018 by officers of the National Intelligence Service. The twins Bukuru and Butoyi Shabani, who were arrested in November 2016, and Évariste Nyandwi, alias Matwi, who was arrested in December 2016, were detained in a house in Bujumbura that was used by the National Intelligence Service as a secret place of detention. It is alleged that they were subsequently executed by members of the National Intelligence Service. The Commission has also gathered information on other cases in which it has reason to fear that enforced disappearances have taken place.11 2. Right to liberty and security of person 37. Cases of arbitrary arrest and detention have continued to be perpetrated. Most such cases have targeted persons affiliated with opposition political parties or opposition armed groups or persons perceived as such, as well as persons who did not register to vote or who called on voters to reject the constitutional amendment. Members of the former Burundian Armed Forces (“ex-FAB”) and persons trying to flee the country have also been targeted, as have persons — even those who were apolitical — who refused to join CNDD-FDD or the Imbonerakure. 38. Arrests continue to be carried out by police officers, members of the National Intelligence Service and administrative authorities. Collective arrests are sometimes made in the wake of security incidents or in the case of political opponents. Imbonerakure act in the presence of police officers and/or local authorities, or on their own initiative, before handing the arrested persons over to the police. It is clear that these acts are arbitrary because the Imbonerakure are not legally authorized to carry out arrests,12 the victims are not informed of the reasons for their arrest and the arrests are conducted without a warrant and, in some cases, in a violent manner. 39. Signs of arbitrary detention include the absence of a legal basis or the misuse of vague descriptions such as “undermining the internal security of the State”, prolonged detention without the possibility of appeal, failure to inform the detainee’s relatives and lack of access to legal counsel. Relatives of persons wanted by the authorities have been detained or threatened with arrest. Some individuals have been detained in police holding cells before being taken to the National Intelligence Service or the Special Investigation Brigade. Testimonies concerning detention in unofficial places have also been obtained, as well as information on the use of police holding cells to detain Imbonerakure for internal disciplinary purposes. 40. The same arbitrariness continues to be observed with regard to release from custody. Some individuals have been released for no apparent reason, others because they knew someone within the State apparatus and still others in exchange for what have sometimes amounted to large sums of money. Some individuals who were freed upon acquittal or presidential pardon have been rearrested or subjected to death threats, or are being sought by State agents or Imbonerakure. In addition, some persons who were sentenced for political reasons have been kept in detention even after they had been exonerated or had completed the term of their sentence. 3. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment 41. Cases of torture and ill-treatment have persisted. While some of these acts have been committed by officers of the National Intelligence Service and the police, the majority have 10 11 12 GE.18-13070 See the definition of “enforced disappearance” in article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. In these cases, some but not all elements of the definition of “enforced disappearance” are present. For further details, see A/HRC/36/54, para. 38; see also A/HRC/36/CRP.1 and A/HRC/39/CRP.1. Unless the person is arrested in flagrante delicto. 9