A/HRC/21/50 73. Where the Government refuses to acknowledge the arrest and detention or to disclose the fate of the person concerned, the crime of enforced disappearance has been committed. Torture and other forms of ill-treatment18 E. 1. Government forces and Shabbiha 74. Starting on 15 February 2012, the commission interviewed 81 people regarding allegations of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Fifty-nine interviews concerned events within the reporting period. The commission was unable to visit detention centres to interview detainees or to observe detention conditions. 75. Thirty of the above-mentioned 59 stated that they had been arrested and/or detained by Government forces or Shabbiha. All but one reported suffering physical violence during detention. Nineteen other interviewees reported witnessing detainees being tortured or illtreated; this included 10 individuals who had worked in detention centres or at checkpoints before defecting. Where possible, the commission observed the wounds or scars of alleged victims. 76. While most had been held in official detention centres, six stated that they had been detained in unofficial facilities, such as civilian houses, prior to being transferred to an official centre. In unofficial centres, interviewees reported abuse by soldiers and Shabbiha. A further nine interviewees stated that they had been beaten or assaulted during house searches or at checkpoints, or had witnessed the assault of others. None of the nine was subsequently detained. 77. Reported methods of torture were consistent across the country. Interviewees described being severely beaten about the head and body with electric cables, whips, metal and wooden sticks and rifle butts, burned with cigarettes, kicked, or subjected to electric shocks applied to sensitive parts of the body, including the genitals. Six interviewees reported having lost consciousness during interrogation. 78. Multiple reports were received about detainees being beaten on the soles of the feet (falaqa). Common practices included keeping detainees in prolonged stress positions, including hanging from walls or ceilings by their wrists (shabeh) or hanging by their wrists tied behind their backs. Other methods comprised forcing detainees to bend over and put their head, neck and legs through a tyre while beatings were administered (dulab); and tying detainees to a board with their head unsupported and either stretching them or folding the board in half. Some detainees were subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence.19 On many interviewees, scars and wounds consistent with their accounts were visible. 79. Several forms of torture and ill-treatment meted out did not result in physical evidence. Detainees were forcibly shaved, made to imitate dogs and declare that ―there is no God but Bashar‖. Other interviewees stated that they were forced to undress and remain naked for prolonged periods. Three interviewees stated that they were threatened with execution. One reported being present when another detainee was threatened with sexual assault; another stated that interrogators threatened to arrest and rape female relatives. 80. Six interviewees were moved to multiple detention facilities, among different intelligence agencies. One interviewee reported having been moved to 10 different centres 18 19 See also annex VIII. See also annex IX. 15