*** 64. lt is apparent from the record on file and, more specifically, from a reading of the three judgments delivered by the national courts that the Applicant's guilt was based not only on the statement of witness PW1, but also on witnesses pW2, PW3 and PW4, and at no point in the proceedings was the allegation regarding the annulment of the proceedings in relation to prosecution evidence pW1 raised. The Court further notes that the Applicant has not provided proof of this allegation. 65. The Court holds in conclusion that the allegation regarding procedural error relating to the statement of the prosecution witness PW1 is unfounded. iii. The allegation relating to the lack of Iegal assistance 66. The Applicant alleges that he is indigent and that he received no legal assistance throughout the procedure which culminated in his conviction, whereas such assistance was imperative in view of the seriousness of the offence with which he was charged. He infers therefrom that the lack of free legal assistance has led to violation of his right to a fair trial guaranteed under Article 7 of the Charter. 67. The Respondent 1 State claims that The Legal Aid (Criminal Proceedings) Act, of July 1969 as amended in 2002, provides for free legal aid in criminal proceedings involving indigent persons under certain conditions, including a request for that purpose. The Respondent State claims that the records indicate that the Applicant never made such a request to the national courts, and therefore that his claim in this regard is unfounded and must be dismissed. 68. The Court has previously held in the ,",,"l. of Mohamed Abubakari v. tJnited Republic of Tanzanra that "an indigent person under prosecution for a criminal offence is particularly entitled to free legal assistance where the offence is serious, and the penalty provided by law is severe,'.e 69. The Applicant, in the instant case, being in the same situation as described above, the Court finds that the Respondent State was under an obligation to Abubakari v Tanzania ment op.cff. paras. 138-142 16 v