Alleged violation of Article 5 49. Article 5 of the African Charter provides that “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���. 50. The Complainant alleges that the condition of their detention in the detention centres were inhumane as the facilities were overcrowded and unsanitary. According to the Complainant, the detention centre at Kisangili had been used to house animals just prior to its conversion into a detention centre to hold approximately 300 people and few measures had been taken to accommodate the detainees, including cleaning out the animal waste. The complaint further alleges that since the Gambians, at any time from arrest, detention, leading to their expulsion, were not informed of the reasons of their detention and its duration thereof, which in itself, the African 3 Commission had held, constituted a “mental trauma.” 51. In further corroborating the failure of the Respondent State, the complaint alleges that guards frequently beat the Gambians and extorted money from them. Food was not regularly provided and medical attention was not readily available, despite repeated requests. Complainants were transported between detention centres in overcrowded cargo planes and lorries. The detention centre in Saurimo had no roof or walls and Complainants were exposed to the elements of weather for five consecutive days. At the Cafunfu detention centre, bathroom facilities consisted solely of two buckets for over 500 detainees, and these were located in the same one room where all detainees were compelled to eat and sleep. This, for the African Commission, is clearly a violation of Article 5 of the African Charter since such a treatment cannot be called anything but degrading and inhuman. 52. In communication 224/1998 Media Rights Agenda v Federal Republic of Nigeria, the African Commission held the terms“cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment” to be “interpreted so as to extend to the widest possible protection against abuses, whether physical or 4 mental,” referring to any act ranging from denial of contact with one’s family and refusing to inform 5 the family of where the individual is being held, to conditions of overcrowded prisons and 6 beatings and other forms of physical torture, such as deprivation of light, insufficient food and lack of 7 access to medicine or medical care. The African Commission also reiterates its position taken in HuriLaws v. Nigeria, in which it ruled that such “treatment meted out to the victim” constituted a breach of Article 5 of the African Charter, as well as the [Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of 8 Prisoners] as laid out by the United Nations. 53. There is nothing from the Respondent State to counter these allegations and the African Commission, thus, is of the view that Angola is in violation of Article 5 of the African Charter. Alleged violation of Article 6 54. Article 6 of the African Charter provides for the prohibition of arbitrary arrest. In its Resolution on the Right to Recourse Procedure and Fair Trial, the African Commission further states that “persons who are arrested shall be informed at the time of arrest, in a language which they understand of the 9 reason for their arrest and shall be informed promptly of any charges against them.” Furthermore, the 10 prohibition of arbitrary arrest includes prohibition of indefinite detention and arrests and 11 detentions “based on grounds of ethnic origin alone.” 55. In the present case, there is nothing from the Respondent State to indicate that the manner of victims’ arrests and subsequent expulsion was not arbitrary as alleged by the complainant. As the Complainant puts it, at no point were any of the victims shown a warrant or any other document relating to the charges under which the arrests were being carried out. The African Commission thus finds the Respondent State to have violated Article 6 of the African Charter. Alleged violation of Article 7(1)(a) 56. Article 7(1)(a) of the African Charter provides that “every individual shall have the right to have his cause heard. This comprises: the right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts of