THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE OSCE AREA Fair-trial guarantees Following his mission to Uzbekistan, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture described the use of torture in Uzbekistan as systematic. He also reported a lack of respect for the principle of presumption of innocence, a lack of independence of the judiciary and discretionary powers of the prosecutor with respect to access to detainees by legal counsel and relatives.143 In addition, both the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee against Torture have expressed their concern about the lack of independence of the judiciary in Uzbekistan.144 In March 2004, the UN Human Rights Committee considered the case of an applicant who had initially been sentenced to death for murder with aggravating circumstances. The sentence had later been commuted by the Supreme Court. In the case, the Committee found violations of Article 10(1) (right of persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity) and Article 14 (right to a fair trial) of the ICCPR.145 The Committee found that the death sentence had been pronounced without meeting the requirements of a fair trial and recalled that the initial imposition of the death penalty upon conclusion of a trial in which the provisions of the ICCPR have not been respected constitutes a violation of the right to life in Article 6 of the ICCPR. Individual complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee Uzbekistan has ratified the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and thereby recognizes the competence of the UN Human Rights Committee to consider complaints from individuals claiming that their rights under the ICCPR have been violated.146 In cases concerning the death penalty, the UN Human Rights Committee can issue urgent requests to suspend the execution of a death sentence while the case is pending before the Committee. The UN Human Rights Committee has received communications on the death penalty from Uzbekistan concerning violations of the prohibition against arbitrary detention, the right to a fair trial, the prohibition against torture and other illtreatment, and the right of persons in detention to be treated with humanity and dignity. 143 144 145 146 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Mission to Uzbekistan, E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.2, 3 February 2003. Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee, Uzbekistan, CCPR/CO/71/UZB, 26 April 2001; Concluding Observations/comments of the Committee against Torture, CAT/C/CR/28/7, 6 June 2002. CCPR/C/80/D/917/2000, 29 March 2004, Paragraph 6. Uzbekistan acceded to the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR on 28 September 1995. 46