The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area address allegations of torture,140 that one individual sentenced to death was executed prior to the consideration of his request for a pardon,141 and that the public prosecutors may not be regarded as having the institutional objectivity and impartiality necessary to examine the legality of decisions for pre-trial detention.142 The Committee held that the authors of one communication were victims of inhuman treatment as a result of the authorities’ failure to notify them of the execution of their son and the failure to inform them of his burial place.143 The Committee found a number of violations of the ICCPR, including of Article 6 (right to life), Article 7 (prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment), Article 10 (1) (right of persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity), and Article 14 (right to a fair trial). Pardon or commutation Death sentences can be commuted to 25 years’ imprisonment.144 The cases of all individuals sentenced to death are automatically considered by the Clemency Commission under the Office of the President regardless of whether the sentenced person has submitted an appeal for clemency. Sentences should not be executed until a decision on clemency has been issued. Relatives Relatives are not informed in advance of the date of execution. The body is not returned, and the place of burial is not disclosed.145 Following his mission to Uzbekistan, the special rapporteur on torture expressed serious concern regarding the situation of the relatives of people sentenced to death: “The complete secrecy surrounding the date of execution, the absence of any formal notification prior to and after the execution and the refusal to hand over the body for burial are believed to be intentional acts, fully mindful of causing family members turmoil, fear and anguish over the fate of their loved ones. The practice of maintaining families in a state of uncertainty with a 140  U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/88/D/1057/2002, para. 7.1; U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/89/D/1043/2002, para. 7.2; U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/89/D/1071/2002, para. 7.2. 141  U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/89/D/1043/2002, para. 7.6. 142  U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/87/D/959/2000, para. 8.2. 143  U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/87/D/959/2000, para. 8.5. 144  Article 93 of the Constitution and Article 51 (3) of the Criminal Code. Regulation “On the procedure for granting clemency in the Republic of Uzbekistan”, approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan NYII-1839, 11 September 1997. 145  This information is regarded as a state secret in accordance with Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 239-33 “On measures of protection of state secrets of the Republic of Uzbekistan”, 5 May 1994, and Article 140 of the Criminal Execution Code. 43