CCPR/C/79/D/910/2000 Page 3 Views under article 5, paragraph 4, of the Optional Protocol 1.1 The author of the communication, Mr. Ati Antoine Randolph, born 9 May 1942, has Togolese and French nationality. He is in exile in France and alleges that the Togolese Republic has violated his rights and those of his brother, Emile Randolph, under article 2, paragraph 3 (a); articles 7, 9 and 10; article 12, paragraph 2; and article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The author is represented by counsel. 1.2 The Togolese Republic became a party to the Covenant on 24 August 1984 and to the Optional Protocol on 30 June 1988. Facts as submitted by the author 2.1 Mr. Randolph first relates the circumstances surrounding the death of his brother, Counsellor to the Prime Minister of Togo, which occurred on 22 July 1998. He claims that the death resulted from the fact that the gendarmerie did not renew his brother’s passport quickly enough so that he could be operated on in France, where he had already undergone two operations in 1997. His diplomatic passport having expired in 1997, the author’s brother had requested its renewal; the author claims, however, that the gendarmerie confiscated the document. His brother later submitted another application, supported by his medical file. According to the author, no doctor in Togo had the necessary means to undertake such an operation. The gendarmerie issued a passport on 21 April 1998, but the applicant did not receive it until June 1998. 2.2 The author believes that the authorities violated his brother’s freedom of movement, which was guaranteed under article 12, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, by refusing to renew his passport quickly and by requiring the applicant’s physical presence and his signature in a register in order to deliver the passport to him, thereby exacerbating his illness. The author believes that it was as a result of these events that his brother, in a very weakened condition and unable to fly on a regularly scheduled airline, died on 22 July 1998. 2.3 The author of the communication submits, secondly, facts relating to his arrest on 14 September 1985, together with about 15 others including his sister, and their 1986 trial for possession of subversive literature and insulting the head of State. During the period between his arrest and conviction, the author claims, he was tortured by electric current and other means and suffered degrading, humiliating and inhuman treatment. About 10 days after the arrest, the author was reportedly transferred to the detention centre in Lomé, and it was only then, according to the author, that he discovered he had been accused of insulting a public official, a charge that was later changed to insulting the head of State. The author notes in this respect that the head of State had not brought charges against anyone. 2.4 By a judgement on 30 July 1986, the text of which has not been submitted to the Committee, Mr. Randolph was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. The trial, he claims, was unfair because it violated the presumption of innocence and other provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He has attached extracts from the 1986 report of Amnesty International in support of his claims.