Abou Elkassim Britel, an Italian national of Moroccan origins and a victim of "extraordinary rendition" in 2002, was recently tortured during a mass prison transfer to Kenitra prison, 200km west of Fes, in early October 2010.

In March 2002 he was arrested in Pakistan, handed over to the American authorities, who then transferred him to the Moroccan authorities. After one year of secret detention he was released without charge. On his way back to Italy from Morocco, he was once again arrested - this time sentenced to 15 years on the basis of confessions extracted under torture.

Documents Reveal Security Officers Were Protected From Prosecution; UN Intervention Sought

(Geneva, November 19, 2010) - Recently obtained documents show that Libya's security chief blocked an investigation into the death in detention in 2006 of a man being held under questionable circumstances, the human rights groups Alkarama, TRIAL (Track Impunity Always), and Human Rights Watch said today.

Alkarama submitted Dr Tuhama Mahmoud Ma'ruf's case to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression today. Dr Tohama was arrested on 6 February 2010 allegedly due to her membership to Syria's Communist Labor Party.

On 27 October 2010 Abdellatif Kouibaat and Badr Kounine were kidnapped in Casablanca. Three days later Azdine Braik was abducted while in the streets of Fès. All three were picked up by plain-clothed security agents and taken to an unknown destination. They have not been seen since.

On 17 November 2010 Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the Working Group on enforced and involuntary disappearances (WGEID), requesting their intervention with Moroccan authorities, so that the three men are freed immediately or at least given adequate legal protection.

Othmane Abdessamed Abdellahoum, 32, who lives in Ain Al Hadjel, Wilaya de Msila, was abducted 16 October 2010 by intelligence officers while leaving his home.

On 5 November 2010 Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the Working Group on Enforced or involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), requesting it to intervene with the Algerian authorities on behalf of Mr Abdellahoum.

Alkarama has informed the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) of five men held at the Political Security detention center in Sanaa, Yemen. These men have been held for several years and all have yet to be tried or charged.

On 9 november 2010 Alkarama sent their cases to the UN Human Rights Special Procedure requesting its intervention with Yemeni authorities so the victims may be released or placed under protection by the law.

The following details on the victims were provided in the communiqué:

Othmane Abdellahoum was kidnapped by security officers in Ain Al Hadjel, Wilaya de Msila, after leaving his home at around 7pm on 16 October 2010. He is nowhere to be found.

On 5 November 2010 Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances asking for them to intervene with Algerian authorities so that Mr Abdellahoum can be released or placed under legal protection.

Mr Abdellahoum, 32, is a married father of two from Ain Al Hadjel in Wilaya de Msila.

On 7 November 2010, dozens of detainees inside the Al-Hodeidah (western Yemen) Political Security prison ended their hunger strike following nine days of peaceful protest. The prison authorities, however, were impervious to the demonstrations and offered no solace to the detainees' requests for their release.

On 18 March 2010, Alkarama sent the cases of 10 Yemeni detainees to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), requesting its intervention with the Yemeni authorities.

Mr Adam Khalil Haouli, a 37 year old Sudanese refugee living in Egypt since May 2002 was arrested by Egyptian security forces on of 30 December 2009 and brutally tortured for 82 days.

On 4 november 2010, Alkarama sent Mr Haouli's case to the Special Rapporteur on torture (SRT), requesting his intervention with the Egyptian authorities to open a full and impartial investigation in order to establish the facts behind the acts torture committed against him and to prosecute those responsible.