torture he was subjected to, and that even special therapy has not improved his state. The author suspects that the paramilitary group to which the incident was attributed was backed by the regular armed forces. 2.4 In the latter context, the author contends that the Colombian armed forces regularly practice torture, are engaged in killings and disappearances, and cooperate with, or at the very least tolerate, the activities of paramilitary groups. He points to the report issued by the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances after its visit to Colombia in the autumn of 1988, which stated that there was indirect proof of armed forces involvement in many of the disappearances occurring in Colombia. 2.5 With respect to his own case, the author indicates that a Sergeant Major from the army, one D.T., told him that his participation in various demonstrations had been noted by the army's intelligence service and aroused considerable suspicion, and that the "army had it in for him" ("estaba muy quemado con el ejercito"). In the first half of 1987, an agent of the special security police was uncovered in a union meeting at the University of Antioquia, in which the author participated. All these events, as well as the ill-treatment of his brother, allegedly were designed to induce the author to withdraw from his union activities. 2.6 As to the requirement of exhaustion of domestic remedies, the author made several complaints to the Colombian Attorney-General's Office, to the Police Department in Me&ellin and to several examining magistrates in Bogota. They promised to investigate his and his brother's cases, but no conclusive result has transpired. In particular, the author filed a complaint with the examining magistrate Ho. 21 in Bogota, who had been instructed to investigate matters related to interference with union activities in the National University of Colombia. In spite of regular reminders, he did not receive a reply; no o»e has been indicted, as those responsible for his brother's situation and for the threats against his life have not been identified. The author concludes that the Colombian judicial system is virtually inoperative, as he contends was conceded even by a Colombian Federal Prosecutor, and that, accordingly, he should be deemed to have complied with the requirements of article 5, paragraph 2 {b), of the Optional Protocol. Complaint 3. It is submitted that the facts described above constitute violations of articles 6, 7, 17 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. State party's information and observations 4.1 The State party submits that the communication is inadmissible on the ground of non-compliance with article 5, paragraph 2 (b), of the Optional Protocol, since the author failed to avail himself of available remedies. 4.2 In this context, it indicates that it has instructed the Office of the Prosecutor-General and the National Office of Criminal Investigations in Bogota to inquire into the author's allegations. As soon as these investigations are concluded, they will be brought to the Committee's attention. -335-