a violation of articles 1, 9 and 10 of the Covenant. In particular, he claims that his arrest was arbitrary, as there was no support for the charges against him, and that he was tortured and ill-treated between 17 April and 15 June 1989. Issues and proceedings before the Committee 4.1 Before considering any claims contained in a communication, the Human Rights Committee must decide, in accordance with rule 87 of its rules of procedure, whether or not it is admissible under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant. 4.2 With regard to the application of the Optional Protocol to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Committee recalls that it entered into force on 16 August 1989. It observes that the Optional Protocol cannot be applied retroactively and concludes that the Committee is precluded ratione temporis from examining acts said to have occurred between 17 April and 15 June 1989, unless these acts continued or had effects after the entry into force of the Optional Protocol, constituting in themselves a violation of the Covenant. 4.3 Accordingly, the Committee finds that it is precluded ratione temporis from examining the author's allegations. 5. The Human Sights Committee therefore decides: (a) That the communication is inadmissible; (b) That this decision shall be communicated to the author and, for information, to the State party. [Done in English, French, Russian and Spanish, the English text being the original version.] -431-