95 in which it held that where the accused either had no access or only resh·icted or delayed access to a lawyer, the Respondent State violated article 7(1) (c) of the African Charter. This is also the position of the European Court .of Human Rights, which held that the right of every accused person to be effectively defended by a lawyer is one of the fundamental elements of a fair trial: "Prompt access to a lawyer constitutes an important counterweight to the vulnerability of suspects in police custody, offers essential protection against the coercion and ill-treatment to which they may be subjected by the police, and contributes to the prevention of miscarriages of justice and to the achievement of the aims pursued by Article 6, in particular equality of arms between the accused and the investigating or prosecuting authorities96". 185. In line with the its above, the Commission finds that the denial of the Victim to have access to a lawyer and his family, violates Article 7(1)(c) of the African Charter. 186. The Commission therefore holds that the Respondent State violated Article 7(1) (c) and ((d) of the African Charter. Alleged Violation of Article 1 . 187.Article 1 of the African Charter provides that: 'The member states of the Organization of African Unity parties to the present Charter shall recognize the rights, duties and freedoms enshrined in this Charter · and sl1all undertake to adopt legi.slative or other measures to gi.ve effect to them. 188. The Complainants submit that the failure of the RespondentStateto conduct a prompt, independent, effective and thorough investigation into the Victim's treatment a~,, well as, to provide adequate and effective remedy and reparation for the violations the Victim has suffered, violates Article 1 of the African Charter, in conjunction with Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the African Charter. The Complainants further submit that the Victim does not have access to judicial remedies in the Respondent State which he could pursue, thus, the Respondent State has failed to meet its obligations under