"psychological torture." The absolute prohibition of torture, in all its forms, is now part of
international jus cogens.
93. Likewise, the Court considers that, according to the circumstances of each particular case,
some acts of aggression inflicted on a person may be classified as mental torture, particularly
acts that have been prepared and carried out deliberately against the victim to eliminate his
mental resistance and force him to accuse himself of or confess to certain criminal conducts, or
to subject him to other punishments, in addition to the deprivation offreedom itself
94. In the case sub judice, it has been proved that Maritza Urrutia was subjected to acts of
mental violence by being exposed intentionally to a context of intense suffering and anguish,
according to the practice that prevailed at that time,33
92. The Commission turns to consider whether the fads presented by the Complainant
establish a situation of psychological torture. The Commission has held that
complainants before it bear the initial onus qf laying a fact~al foundation in
support of their allegations especially, allegation,s ~f torture under Article 5, which
it has found must be substantiated by the persons making them. 34
93. The Commission notes that the Complainant has not presented a factual pattern
corroborated by cogent evidence which demonstrate torture with the meaning of
Article 5 of the Charter as read with Article 1 of the CAT. The Commission enjoins
complainants to , "make precise ~llegations of facts by attaching relevant
documents, if possible, and avoid making allegations in general terms." 35 Despite
the Commission's decip.edly lower threshold in which torture is defined as widely
as possible, the complainant's case stiU fails.
94. In the present case, the Complainant has only claimed experiencing "psychological
torture" arising from the election of Mr. Francis Kaparo as Speaker of Parliament
on the 9th of January 2003 and the subsequent confirmations made by the Courts
to this effect. From a reading of the Complainant's arguments on the merits, the
Commission cannot pick out any evidence of the Complainant's psychological
pain or suffering intentionally inflicted by the State or its officials. Moreover, the
Commission does not consider the facts relied on by the Complainant to amount
to an attack on his inherent human dignity and the recognition of his status as a
person. Accordingly, the Commission is not convinced that the Complainant's
right to freedom from torture was violated.