State party’s observations on admissibility 6.2 For the State party, the author’s arrest was carried out with the agreement (“sanction”) of a prosecutor and at the moment of arrest, the author was informed of the reasons and grounds for his arrest. His arrest is said to be grounded on and made in accordance with Presidential Decree of 21 October 1997; the Decree was applied in his case as it applies not only to suspects of “terrorism and other particularly dangerous violent crimes”, but also to individuals who “lead a criminal organization, an organized criminal gang, or belong to it”. The State party adds that in the light of Ravkov’s deposition, the existence of an organized criminal group could not be excluded by the investigators. 4. By submission of 17 September 2002, the State party argued that the communication should be declared inadmissible, because “the same matter” was already registered and was being examined by another international body of settlement, i.e., the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), under the individual complaints procedure before the Executive Board’s Committee on Conventions and Recommendations of UNESCO. The author presented no comments in this regard. Committee’s admissibility decision 5. On 7 July 2003, at its seventy-eighth session, the Committee examined the admissibility of the communication. It noted the State party’s challenge to admissibility, and considered that the complaints procedure before the Executive Board’s Committee on Conventions and Recommendations of UNESCO is extra-conventional, without any obligation of the State party concerned to cooperate with it; that no conclusion of violation or non-violation of specific rights by a given State is made in the examination of individual cases; and that such an examination ultimately does not lead to any authoritative determination of the merits of a particular case. The Committee concluded that the UNESCO complaints procedure does not constitute another “procedure of international investigation or settlement” in the sense of article 5, paragraph 2 (a), of the Optional Protocol, and having also noted the author’s statement that domestic remedies were exhausted, declared the communication admissible. 6.3 From the criminal case file, it transpires that the author led a group set up with Ravkov and other individual. Under the provisions of the abovementioned Decree, and after a verification of the facts by the preliminary investigation, and within the statutory 30-day delay, the author was served his indictment for bribery. His detention was extended with the approval of a prosecutor. 6.4 The State party explains that the author’s detention was lawful, as he was charged with a serious crime, and that article 126 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides that in relation to those accused of having committed serious offences, preventive detention is justified by reference to the nature of the crime. In addition, the investigators had information that the author had exerted pressure on witnesses in the case, on subordinates at his Institute, thus obstructing the conduct of the investigation. The author was released in light of his health, after he signed a declaration that he would not leave the country, and was also allowed to continue his work. On 10 June 2001, however, he was arrested with a forged passport, when attempting illegally to cross the border to Ukraine. State party’s observations on the merits 6.1 By note verbale of 20 January 2004, the State party notes that the author was found guilty of being, in his personal and official capacity, a member of a group that had conspired to receive bribes in large amounts.1 He was arrested on 13 July 1999 on the basis of a written statement of 12 July 1999 of his colleague Ravkov to the Gomel Regional Prosecutor, in which the latter voluntarily informed the prosecutor about the bribes he received for the admission of new students to the Institute. Ravkov had described, in detail, dates and names of persons from whom he received bribes that he transmitted to the author, the exact amounts received, and the functioning of the group. He had affirmed in writing that his confessions were made under no constraint, and that he was informed of his criminal responsibility in case of giving false information against the author. 6.5 The State party argues that during the investigation, the author received the necessary medical care. On 13 August 1999, his chronic illness intensified and he was treated at the Hospital of the Committee on the Execution of Penalties. On 13 December 1999, he was admitted for an examination in the National Cardiology Research Institute. He continued to receive the required medical care in the prison colony to which he was transferred. According to information provided by the Committee on the Execution of Penalties on 28 February 2003, the author had not requested medical assistance since September 2002 and visited the colony’s medical unit only at the doctors’ request. His mental and physical health is said to be satisfactory. No requests for detailed examination of his health were received from him, his lawyer or relatives. 1 I.e., for the crime prescribed by article 430 (2) of the Criminal Code of Belarus article 430 (2) of the Belarusian Criminal Code: receipt of bribes. 86