that this approach has also been adopted by the European Court of Human Rights,
which held that the reasonableness of the length of proceedings is to be assessed
under all the circumstances of a case."
116.The Complainant avers that the Victim was detained for months without being
charged or brought before a judge and there are no circumstances that would have
prevented the Sudanese authorities from doing so. The Complainant states that
the pertinent domestic legislation, namely the National Security Act 2010, itself
violates Article 7 of the African Charter, as Article 50 of the NSA 2010 permits the
NISS to detain an individual for up to four and a half months without judicial review
(45 days and an additional three months if sanctioned by the National Security
Council), depriving the individual of any judicial protection.
Failure to provide information on the reasons for arrest and any charges brought
117.The Complainant states that the Resolution on the Right to Recourse and Fair Trial
adopted by the Commission sets out that Persons who are arrested shall be
informed at the time of arrest, in a language which they understand of the reason
for their arrest and shall be informed promptly of any charges against them82 . The
Complainant also refer to the jurisprudence of the African Commission in Abdel
Hadi, Ali Radi & Others v. Sudan in which it held that the "lack of information about
the grounds for arrest .. . constituted a violation of Article 7(1 ) read in conjunction
with Article 6 of the African Charter". 83
118.The Complainant submits that the Victim was detained for months without being
informed of any criminal charges against him. At no point was he shown a warrant
for his arrest or any other document relating to the charges under which he was
detained. No charges were brought in the course of his detention or after his
release and this violated his right to be promptly informed of any charges against
him.
Denial of access to a lawyer
119.The Complainant states that Article 7 (1) (c) of the African Charter stipulates that
every individual shall have . . . the right to defence, including the right to be
defended by Counsel of his choice. The Complainant argues that the African
Commission has held in its jurisprudence, including in Media Rights Agenda,
Constitutional Rights Project v. Nigeria, that "to be denied access to a lawyer is a
violation of Article 7(1)(c)."
120.The Complainant submits that the Victim was denied access to a lawyer, in
violation of Article 7(1 )(c), as he was detained incommunicado with no access to
the outside world, and approaches to the NISS by family members and lawyers
seeking access to the Victim were rebuffed. Furthermore, the Complainant states
that a lawyer known to ACJPS approached the NISS Prosecutor in Khartoum to
seek authorization to meet the Victim and ascertain if any charge ~d.ioeeij---Jiled,
but his requests were ignored.
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82 Resolution on the Right to Recourse and Fair Trial, The African Commission on Human and P:efople
Eleventh Ordinary Session, in Tunis Tunisia, from 2 to 9 March 1992, para. 2(b).
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83 Abdel Hadi, Ali Radi & Others v. Republic of Sudan, Communication 368/09, para 88.
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