67. The Respondent State contests this allegation on the ground that the
Applicant does not demonstrate how he was degraded, tortured or deprived
of his dignity. It further submits that throughout his trial, legal procedures
were followed in accordance with the laws of the land, as the Applicant had
the opportunity to appear before the Tribunal and exercised his right to
appeal.
***
68. The Court notes that under Article 5 of the Charter:
Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity
inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All
forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave
trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment
shall be prohibited.
69. The Court recalls that, in line with its jurisprudence, in order to make a
general assessment as to whether the right to respect for dignity has been
violated, it took into account three main factors. The first is that Article 5 of
the Charter does not contain any restrictive clause. The prohibition of the
violation of dignity through cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is
therefore absolute. The second factor is that the said prohibition is
interpreted to provide the broadest possible protection against physical or
psychological abuse. Finally, personal suffering and infringement of dignity
can take many forms and their assessment depends on the circumstances
of each case.16 Moreover, as the Court has consistently held, the burden of
proof is on the Applicant to prove his allegations.
70. The Court recalls that the Applicant bears the onus to prove his allegations.
In the present case, the Applicant does not provide any evidence of his
allegations of violation of his right to dignity and his right not to be subjected
16
Lucien Ikili Rashidi v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits and reparations) (28 March 2019) 3 AfCLR
13, § 88.
16