The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area 69 In all of these cases, the Committee recalled that the imposition of a sentence of death upon conclusion of a trial in which the provisions of the Covenant have not been respected constitutes a violation of Article 6 of the ICCPR (right to life) and held that the sentences of death were passed in violation of the right to a fair trial as set out in Article 14 of the Covenant, and therefore also in violation of Article 6 of the ICCPR.164 In its concluding observations on the initial report submitted by Tajikistan, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed its concern about a number of relevant areas, including the widespread use of ill-treatment and torture by investigative and other officials to obtain information; testimony or self-incriminating evidence from suspects, witnesses or arrested persons; the absence of any provision prohibiting the use of unlawfully obtained evidence in Tajikistan’s criminal procedure law; widespread reports of the obstruction of detainees’ access to a lawyer; the lack of equality of arms between the suspect/accused or defence counsel and the prosecution both during a criminal investigation and in court, in particular that a prosecutor, rather than a judge, remained responsible for authorizing arrests; the lack of independence of the judiciary, as reflected in the process of appointment and dismissal of judges, as well as in their economic status; the military courts having jurisdiction to try criminal cases concerning both military personnel and civilians; and reports of several convictions in absentia, notwithstanding the prohibition by law of trials in absentia.165 On 30 December 2005, after his visit to Tajikistan, the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers welcomed a number of significant and far-reaching reforms affecting the judiciary that had been introduced in Tajikistan. However, he expressed his concerns about the dominant role of the prosecutor in the judicial process. He also noted that the executive branch remained very influential in the selection and appointment procedures for judges, the vulnerable position of lawyers, and the lack of appropriate training on international standards governing the independence of the judiciary for all legal professions.166 Individual complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee Tajikistan has ratified the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and thereby recognizes the competence of the UN Human Rights Committee to consider complaints 164 CCPR/C/79/D/1096/2002, 6 November 2003, para. 7; CCPR/C/81/D/964/2001, 20 August 2004, para. 6.9; CCPR/C/81/D/1117/2002, 25 August 2004, para. 6.6; CCPR/C/83/D/973/2001, 13 April 2005, para. 7.6. 165 Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee, Tajikistan, CCPR/CO/84/TJK, 18 July 2005, para. 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. 166 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Leandro Despouy, Addendum, Mission to Tajikistan, E/CN.4/2006/52/Add.4, 30 December 2005, para. 85, 86, and 87.