CCPR/C/112/D/1972/2010 European Prison Rules.9 Among other things, the number of visits, food parcels and phone calls had been increased, the censorship on correspondence and the prohibition of vocational training had been discontinued. At present, the work on improving living conditions continues. With regard to the author’s submission, the State party maintains that he received all allowances provided by legislation and, after he had served 10 years of imprisonment, by a decision of the Prison administration of 10 May 2005 the conditions of his detention were improved and he received additional allowances that are still in place. After his arrival in the prison, the author was placed in the two-person cell No. 141 of ward 5. The dimensions of the cell are 2.55 m by 3.85 m, the height of the ceiling is 3.50 m and the windows are 1 m by 0.90 m. The above dimensions correspond both to the Code of Execution of Sentences and to the European Prison Rules. On 16 December 2001, the author was transferred to cell No. 143, where he remains to date. That cell has the same size as the previous; it has a Plexiglas window, which provides natural light; there is a ventilator above the door to provide for normal ventilation; a tube from the central heating, which ensures a normal temperature, goes through the cell. In the cell there are: a double-decked plank bed, a table with two seats bolted to the floor, two plastic chairs, a bookshelf, a television set and two bedside tables. The cell has all the conditions necessary for the normal serving of the sentence and it corresponds to the requirements of the international instruments on treatment of prisoners. 4.4 The State party submits that prisoners’ food is prepared in accordance with the Council of Ministers Decree of 25 September 2001 regarding the material living conditions and nutrition of the convicts. The convicts receive hot food three times a day (3,265 kilocalories). The State party states that, at the time of its submission, there were no opportunities for the prisoners to work or engage in education, vocational training or sports. The State party further provides general information regarding the institutions and organizations authorized to visit the penitentiaries and to monitor the conditions of detention and the situation of the convicts. The State party maintains that during 2009– 2010, during the visits of international and national organizations, no prisoners submitted any complaints regarding the conditions of detention. 4.5 The State party lastly submits that the Committee should declare inadmissible the claims of the author that concern events which have taken place before the entry into force of the Optional Protocol. It also notes that the author’s application to the European Court had been rejected on 28 November 2008 as it did not correspond to the requirements of articles 34 and 35 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Author’s comments on the State party’s observations 5.1 On 28 April 2011, the author submits that the State party had confirmed that the initial death sentence had been imposed on him based not only on the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, but also on provisions from the Criminal Codes of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. Regarding the charges under the Azerbaijan law, he notes that currently only one of the five offences for which he was convicted to death is punishable by life imprisonment (namely deliberate murder by a group of persons under aggravating circumstances) and the rest are punishable by shorter terms of imprisonment. Article 6 of the old Criminal Code and article 10.3 of the new Criminal Code both state that provisions of the criminal law which provide for a lighter penalty shall have retroactive application. The author maintains that the investigation 9 8 Council of Europe, recommendation Rec(2006)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the European Prison Rules, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 11 January 2006 at the 952nd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies.