On 5 December 1996, the author was informed that the Governor General would not commute his death sentence.

The Committee notes, however, that the author was detained in 1987 and transferred to death row in June 1988, and from there to the General Penitentiary after commutation of his death sentence, and that it does not transpire from the State party's submission that his conditions of detention were compatible with article 10 prior to January 1997.

The rights of the defendant before, during and after the trial are protected by many procedural and substantive guarantees provided for in the Constitution and the law in keeping with the provisions of the Covenant. Thus this penalty is applied only to the most serious crimes with due regard to the principle of non-retroactivity unless it is in the interest of the defendant. A death sentence should also be handed down by a competent court in accordance with the law. General or individual amnesty, commutation of the penalty in accordance with the law and practice and the principle of doubt are all to be interpreted in the interest of the defendant and lay the burden of proof on the prosecutor. The death penalty is not applied on juveniles under 18 or on pregnant women. Other guarantees provided for in article 14, paragraph 3, of the Covenant are elaborated in the Syrian law as follows: