2. (a) Substantive issues Right to life (Covenant, art. 6) 648. Although capital punishment is not per se unlawful under the Covenant, article 6, paragraph 2, provides that a "sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious of crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present Covenant" (emphasis added). Thus, a nexus is established between the imposition of a sentence of death and observance by State authorities of Covenant guarantees. Accordingly, in cases where the Committee found that the State party had violated article 14 of the Covenant, in that the author had been denied a fair trial and appeal, the Committee held that in the circumstances the imposition of the sentence of death also entailed a violation of article 6. In its views in case No. 230/1987 (Raphael Henry v, Jamaica) the Committee observed: "The Committee is of the opinion that the imposition of a sentence of death upon the conclusion of a trial in which the provisions of the Covenant have not been respected constitutes, if no further appeal against the sentence is available, a violation of article 6 of the Covenant. As the Committee noted in its general comment 6(16), the provision that a sentence of death may be imposed only in accordance with the law and not contrary to the provisions of the Covenant implies that 'the procedural guarantees therein prescribed must be observed, including the right to a fair hearing by an independent tribunal, the presumption of innocence, the minimum guarantees for the defence and the right to review by a higher tribunal'." (annex IX, sect. B, para. 8.5) 649. Having concluded that the final sentence of death had been imposed without the requirements of article 14 having been fully met, the Committee found that the right protected by article 6 had been violated. Similar conclusions were reached in cases Nos. 248/1987 (Glenford Campbell v. Jamaica) and 283/1988 (Aston Little v. Jamaica). (b) The right not to be subjected to torture (Covenant, art. 7) 650. Article 7 of the Covenant provides that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In case Ho. 277/1988 (Juan Teran Jijon v. Ecuador), the complainant claimed that he had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment during detention, which included remaining shackled and blindfolded for five days. The Committee notes that the complainant had submitted a medical report as corroborative evidence to support his allegation? in its opinion, this evidence was sufficiently compelling to justify the conclusion that he had been subjected to treatment prohibited under article 7 of the Covenant. 651. In case Ho. 271/1988 (Clyde Sutcliffe v. Jamaica) the Committee stated: "The Committee considers that the fact of having first been beaten unconscious and then left without medical attention for almost one day, in spite of a fractured arm and other injuries, amounts to cruel and inhuman treatment within the meaning of article 7 and, therefore, also entails a violation of article 10, paragraph 1. In the Committee's view. -154-