sentence was automatically commuted to life imprisonment. At the time of filing the present Application, he was serving the said sentence in prison in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He alleges violation of his rights in connection with domestic legal proceedings. 2. The Application is filed against Burkina Faso (hereinafter referred to as the “Respondent State”), which became a Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (hereinafter referred to as “the Charter”) on 21 October 1986 and to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (hereinafter “the Protocol) on 28 July 1998 following the deposit of the fifteenth instrument of ratification. Furthermore, on 28 July 1998, the Respondent State deposited the declaration provided for in Article 34(6) of the Protocol (hereinafter “the Declaration”), by virtue of which it accepts the Court’s jurisdiction to receive applications from individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations having observer status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. However, the Declaration took effect after the entry into force of the Protocol, that is, on 25 January 2004. II. SUBJECT OF THE APPLICATION A. Facts of the matter 3. It emerges from the Application that on 9 March 2013, at around 10 pm, the Bogododo Gendarmerie Brigade was informed that one Bernadette TIENDREBEOGO had been shot dead at her home. Eye witness statements identified the Applicant as the suspect. 4. Apprehended and questioned the next day, the Applicant admitted having shot Ms. TIENDREBEOGO with his service Kalashnikov. He avers that, furious that his victim called him “filthy” at her home, he returned to work and took his service weapon after which he returned to Ms. TIENDREBEOGO’s home and shot her. 2