IbG instruments: whether the Government had notified the Secretary-General of and whether there was any prospect its promulgation of the state of emergency: of the state of emergency being lifted. 497. As receive penalty penalty regards article 6 of the Covenant, members of the Committee wished to information on the number and nature of crimes for which the death could be imposed, as well as on the number of cases in which the death had been imposed and carried out. 498. In connection with articles 7 and 8 of the Covenant, members of the Committee wished to know what the Government’s position was regarding the use of torture to compel prisoners to testify and whether the new Penal Code crucifixion and amputation and, if so, whether provided for public flogging, such punishments were applied in practice. Members also requested clarification concerning extrajudicial executions, acts of torture in general and the resurgence of forms of siavery in several parts of the country. 499, In relation to articles 9 and 10 of the Covenant, members of the Committee asked how the powers of the Revolutionary CommandCouncil for Rational Salvation to order the arrest of individuals merely suspected of eudangering political or economic stability could be reconciled with the provisions of those articles and whether the political prisoners still under detention were to be tried before special or ordinary courts. 500. With reference to article 14, members of the Committee requested additional information on the functioning and procedures of the special courts and the public order courts in the Khartoum marketplace. They also wished to know what measures had been taken to ensure the independence of the judiciary; what qualifications were required for appointment as a judge of a special court; and how appeals to the Revolutionary CommandCouncil for National Salvation against an arrest could operate, given that the President of the Council was himself ultimately responsible for ordering such arrests. 501. In connection with article 18 of the Covenant, members of the Committee wished to know whether the crime of apostasy, defined as advocating abandonment of Islam by a Muslim, was considered by the Sudan to be compatible with that article. 502. In connection with article 19 of the Covenant, members of the Committee requested information on the scope of the expression “showing of any political opposition” in paragraph 8 (a) of the report: whether foreign newspapers were allowed; whether the activities of foreign journalists were in any way restricted: whether a prior licence was required to publish newspapers, and whether there were any plans for the privatieation of broadcasting and television. 503, With reference to articles 21 and 22 of the Covenant, members of the Committee requested information regarding trade union freedoms in the Sudan, Particularly concerning the alleged arrests of trade unionists and academics who had taken part in a peaceful demonstration. 504. Regarding article 25 of the Covenant, members of the Committee asked if tall@one-party system could meet the requirement of that erticle. They also ‘loted that the number of political parties in a given political system was -125-