by agents of the Respondent on grounds that they failed to produce a license permitting them to hold the said protest amongst others. The Respondent, on the other hand, contended that the interference with the Applicants’ rights to liberty was executed within the context of the provisions of Article 6 of the African Charter. That the Applicants were arrested and detained for embarking on an unlawful and violent procession which disrupted public peace and constituted an imminent threat. That they behaved in an unruly manner and failed to comply with a dispersal order, throwing missiles at the Police and thereby causing the law enforcement agency to resort to force within the confines of the law. The Applicants maintained that the protest was peaceful as they were unarmed, walking together with locked arms and chanting “release Ebrima Solo Sadeng dead or alive”. They further contend that their detention was prolonged and in contravention of the Gambian Constitution which provides a maximum period of seventy-two (72) hours before being charged to Court. They argued specifically that the detention of the 26th-31st Applicants lasted more than two weeks. In rebutting the claim of prolonged detention, the Respondent relied on the provisions of Section 32 of the Interpretation Act of the Gambia to justify the extra days. The Applicants however challenged the applicability of the said provisions of the Constitution. It must be noted that right to liberty and assembly are rights to which the state as a signatory is under obligation to protect though not absolute and the exercise of which is regulated by law. This means simply that such rights can be derogated from within the frame work of the law. It is therefore important to examine the provisions of Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights provides: “Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person. No one may be deprived of his freedom except for reasons and conditions previously laid down by law. In particular, no one may be arbitrarily arrested or detained.” The Court notes that the Gambian Criminal Procedure Code was drafted having in mind the desire to provide absolute protection for the sovereignty 14