having been disbarred by the disciplinary board of the Bar Association of the Tizi-Ouzou region on 3 October 2002. He is not a member of the Bar Association of the Canton of Geneva either, from where the communication was submitted. Accordingly, he is not entitled to act in this capacity. By using the title of lawyer, Rachid Mesli has acted under false pretences and wrongfully claimed a profession which he does not exercise. The State party also points out that an international arrest warrant (ref. No. 17/02) for Rachid Mesli has been issued by the investigating judge of the Sidi M’hamed court for his involvement in allegedly terrorist activities carried out by the Groupe Salafiste de Prédication et de Combat (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat) (GSPC), which is on the list of terrorist organizations drawn up by the United Nations. 4.2 On 12 November 2003, the State party recalled that Abbassi Madani was arrested in June 1991 following a call to widespread violence, which was launched by Abbassi Madani and others by means of a directive bearing his signature. This came in the wake of a failed uprising, which he and others had planned and organized, with a view to establishing a theocratic State through violence. It was in the context of these exceptional circumstances, and to ensure the proper administration of justice, that he was brought before a military tribunal, which, contrary to the allegations by the source, is competent to try the offences of which he is accused. Neither article 14 of the Covenant, nor the Committee’s general comment on this article nor other international standards refer to a trial held in courts other than ordinary ones as necessarily constituting a violation of the right to a fair trial. The Committee has made this point when considering communications relating to special courts and military courts. 4.3 The State party also points out that Abbassi Madani is no longer being held in detention, since he was released on 2 July 2003. He is no longer subject to any restriction on his liberty of movement and is not under house arrest as the source claims. He has been able to travel abroad freely. 4.4 Abbassi Madani was prosecuted and tried by a military tribunal, whose organization and competence are laid down in Ordinance No. 71-28 of 22 April 1971 establishing the Code of Military Justice. Contrary to the allegations made, the military tribunal is composed of three judges appointed by an order issued jointly by the Minister of Justice, Garde des Sceaux, and the Minister of Defence. It is presided over by a professional judge who sits in the ordinary law courts, is subject by regulation to the Act on the status of the judiciary, and whose professional career and discipline are 137 137 overseen by the Supreme Council of Justice, a constitutional body presided over by the head of State. The decisions of the military tribunal may be challenged by lodging an appeal before the Supreme Court on the grounds and conditions set forth in article 495 ff. of the Code of Criminal Procedure. As far as their competence is concerned, in addition to special military offences, the military tribunals may try offences against State security as defined in the Criminal Code, when the penalty incurred is for terms of imprisonment of more than five years. Military tribunals may thus try anyone who commits an offence of this type, irrespective of whether he or she is a member of the military. Accordingly, and on the basis of this legislation, Abbassi Madani was prosecuted and tried by the Blida military tribunal, whose competence is based on article 25 of the aforementioned Ordinance. The State party notes that the competence of the military tribunal was not challenged by Abbassi Madani before the trial judges. It was called into question the first time with the Supreme Court, which rejected the challenge. 4.5 Abbassi Madani benefited from all the guarantees recognized under law and international instruments. Upon his arrest, the investigating judge informed him of the charges against him. He was assisted during the investigation and the trial by 19 lawyers, and in the Supreme Court by 8 lawyers. He has exhausted the domestic remedies available under the law, having filed an application with the Supreme Court for judicial review, which was rejected. 4.6 The allegation that the trial was not public is inaccurate, and suggests that he was not allowed to attend his trial, or to defend himself against the charges brought against him. In fact, from the outset, he refused to appear before the military tribunal, although he had been duly summoned at the same time as his lawyers. Noting his absence, the president of the tribunal issued a summons for him to appear, which was served on him in accordance with article 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and article 142 of the Code of Military Justice. In the light of his refusal to appear, a report establishing the facts was drawn up before the president of the tribunal decided to dispense with the hearing, in accordance with the aforementioned provisions. Nevertheless, the defendant was kept abreast of all the procedural formalities relating to the hearings and relevant reports were drawn up. The trial of the accused in absentia is neither contrary to Algerian law nor to the provisions of the Covenant: although article 14 stipulates that everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be tried in his presence, it does not say that justice cannot be done when the accused has deliberately, and on his or her sole initiative, refused to appear in court. The Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Military