guaranteed by the conventions, laws, regulations, and practices in force; b) the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court; c) the right to a defence, including the right to be assisted by a lawyer of one's choice; d) the right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial tribunal. (2) No one may be convicted of an act or omission which did not constitute, at the time it was committed, an offence punishable by law. No penalty may be prescribed if it was not prescribed at the time the offence was committed. The penalty is personal and concerns only the offender'. 167.The Complainant alleges that Article 7 was violated in the present Communication on several counts, including a) the denial of habeas corpus b) the failure to provide information on the reasons for arrest and any charges brought; and c) the denial of access to a lawyer. The African Commission Will proceed to assess the Complainants arguments in relation to the alleged violation of the Victim's right under Article 7 of the African Charter. 168.Regarding the denial of habeas corpus, the Complainant argues 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. 169.The right to he heard is a clearly established norm that anyone who is deprived of his/her liberty through arrest and detention is entitled to initiate proceedings before a judicial body, in order that the judicial body may decide without delay on the lawfulness of the arrest and detention. The African Commission's Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial provides that ... anyone who is deprived of his or her liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a judicial body, in order that, that judicial body may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his or her detention and order release if the detention is not lawful. 113 The Principles and Guidelines on Fair Trial also provide that "judicial bodies shall at all times hear and act upon petitions for habeas corpus ... or similar procedures. No circumstances whatever must be invoked as a justification for denying the right to habeas corpus ... " Furthermore, the African Commission's Luanda Guidelines provides that "all persons in police custody and pre-trial detention shall have the right, either personally or through their representative, to take proceedings before a judicial authority, without delay, in order to have the legality of their detention reviewed"114. 170.The African Commission in its jurisprudence has held in Abdel Hadi Ali Radi and Others v. Republic of Sudan 115 and Purohit v. The Gambia116 haye~tt_elct\~~Jhe denial of habeas corpus which prevented the victims from ha~ing the I:> rtunity . \, 113 Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, 2001 , M:-j 4). 114 Principle 35 of Guidelines on Arrest, Policy Custody and Pre-Trial Detention (Luanda Guidelillesl ,~ / -;; _, ,"~:__ ~- ,,(, 115 Abdel Hadi, Ali Radi & Others v. Republic of Sudan, Communication 368/09, para 90. seJ21?0.s u~ 'li.geria, Communication No. 225/98 (2000), para.46. • ,.,,.,_ 4 . R r,..,~-' " 116 Communication 241/01- Purohit v The Gambia <110,-..,,.r r:1 ,11: ,, ~.....-35 •