UN TREATY BODIES 1 justice on the State party, the specific conditions of imprisonment in the particular penitentiary and their psychological impact on the person concerned.”145 The Committee has found violations where a minor was detained on death row,146 where a warrant was issued for the execution of a person suffering from mental illness,147 where a prisoner was returned to death row after having been told that his sentence had been commuted,148 and where detention in a death cell awaiting execution was unreasonably prolonged.149 – UNCAT While the CAT increasingly raises the death penalty in its discussions with States Parties,150 welcomes its abolition in Concluding Observations,151 expresses concern where it continues to be imposed,152 and recommends its abolition153 or a moratorium on its use,154 it has never explicitly stated that it considers the imposition of capital punishment itself to be inconsistent with the UNCAT. Indeed, individual members have stressed that the death penalty itself is not in violation of the UNCAT, and does not therefore come within the Committee’s mandate.155 Francis v Jamaica, HRC Communication No. 606/1994, 25 July 1995, §9.2. In that case, the Committee found that a serious deterioration in the author’s mental health, the prison conditions, allegations of regular beatings by warders, and the ridicule and strain to which the author was subjected during the five days he spent in a death cell awaiting execution revealed a violation of Articles 7 and 10 (1). 146 Clive Johnson v Jamaica, HRC Communication No. 592/1994, 20 October 1998. The sentence imposed was in violation of Article 6(5) ICCPR, which prohibits imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age. 147 R.S. v Trinidad and Tobago, HRC Communication No. 684/1996, 2 April 2002. The Committee considered the state of mental health of the prisoner at the time of issue of the warrant. 148 Chisanga v Zimbabwe, HRC Communication No. 1132/2002, 18 October 2005. 149 Pratt and Morgan v Jamaica (1989), op. cit.; Pennant v Jamaica, HRC Communication No. 647/1995, 20 October 1998. 150 See, for example, questions to the Ukraine, Summary record of the 283rd meeting, UN Doc. CAT/C/SR.283, 1997, §21. 151 See, for example, CAT, Concluding Observations on Turkey, UN Doc. CAT/C/CR/30/5, 2003, §4. 152 See, for example, CAT, Concluding Observations on Belarus, UN Doc. A/56/44, 2001, §45(i). 153 See, for example, CAT, Concluding Observations on Kyrgyzstan, UN Doc. A/55/44, 2000, §75(g). 154 See, for example, CAT, Concluding Observations on Japan, UN Doc. CAT/C/JPN/CO/1, 2007, §20. 155 See, for example, Mr. Mariño Menéndez’s statement that “While the maintenance of the death penalty in Egyptian law was not in itself a violation of the Convention, the Committee would like to receive further information on its practical application.” CAT, Summary record of the 532nd meeting, UN Doc. CAT/C/SR.532, 2002, §15. See also the discussion of Libya, CAT, Summary record of the 381st meeting, UN Doc. CAT/C/SR.381, 1999, §38. 145 34