Communication No. 252/1987*
Submitted by: X (name deleted) on 9 September 1987
Alleged victim: The author
State party: S
Date of decision: 13 November 1987 (thirty-first session)
Subject matter: Claim of innocence by individual under
death sentence, awaiting execution
Procedural issues: Interim measures of protection—
Exhaustion of domestic remedies—Request
for
further information from author
Substantive issues: Fair trial—Review of conviction and
sentence
Articles of the Covenant: 6 (4) and 14 (5)
Article of the Optional Protocol: 5 (2) (b)
Rules of Procedure: 86 and 91
Decision under rule 86 and rule 91
The Human Rights Committee,
Noting that the communication is submitted by a per
son under sentence of death, X,
Considering that further factual information would
be needed from the author before the Committee can
consider the question of the admissibility of the com
munication.
Relying on the willingness of the Government of S to
co-operate with the Committee at this early stage in the
consideration of the subject-matter.
Decides:
1. To transmit the communication, for infor
mation, to the State party and to request the State party,
under rule 86 of the Committee's provisional rules of
procedure, not to carry out the death sentence against X
before the Committee has had an opportunity to con• Not previously published in the annual report of the Human
Rights Committee.
sider further the question of the admissibility of the
present communication;
2. To request the author (a) to describe, in as de
tailed a manner as possible, the treatment received at the
Hunts Bay police station on 5 April 1984; ф) to specify
when he was informed of the charges against him, and
when he was brought before a judge or judicial officer;
(c) to explain what he considers to have been unfair in
the conduct of his trial and appeal; (d) to clarify
whether he was assisted by a lawyer in the preparation
of his defence and during the trial and appeal; (e) to
clarify whether he had adequate opportunity to consult
with his lawyer prior to and during the trial and appeal;
(/) to clarify whether the witnesses against him were
cross-examined; (g) to clarify whether he or his lawyer
sought to have witnesses testify on his behalf and, if so,
whether these witnesses were given the opportunity to
testify under the same conditions as witnesses against
him; (h) to elaborate on his allegation that only poor
persons are on death row, because "they have neither
money nor friends"; and (0 to clarify whether legal aid
was offered to him during his trial and appeal and
whether it is now available for petitioning for leave to
appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council;
3. Further to request the author to provide the
Committee with the text of the written judgement of the
trial court and the written judgement of the Court of
Appeal;
4. To request the author under rule 91 to provide
the information sought not later than 1 February 1988;
5. That any reply received from the author be com
municated to the State party for information;
6. That this decision be communicated to the author
and to the State party.