to it must demonstrate a prima facie case of violation of the Charter. The present Communication alleges violation of Articles 1, 9, 10, 11, and 13(1) of the Charter and is submitted against the Respondent State, a State Party to the Charter. The Commission notes that the Communication satisfies the rationae materiae and rationae personae jurisdiction of the Commission. The Commission further notes that the Communication is compatible with the AU Constitutive Act or the Charter as it demonstrates a prima facie violation of the Charter. Accordingly, Article 56(2) of the Charter is complied with. 77. Article 56(3) of the Charter provides that Communications shall be considered if they ‘are not written in disparaging or insulting language directed at the State concerned and its institutions or to the Organisation of African Unity.’ The Commission’s examination of the Communication reveals that the Communication is not written in disparaging or insulting language and, therefore, satisfies the requirement of Article 56(3) of the Charter. 78. Article 56(4) of the Charter requires that Communications submitted to the Commission ‘are not based exclusively on news disseminated through the mass media.’ The Complainants have stated that the present Communication is not based exclusively on news disseminated through the mass media. They did not substantiate their assertion with documents or evidence. However, after examining the Complainants’ admissibility submissions, the Commission notes that the Communication is based on facts well known and documented from various sources. 79. Additionally, the Commission notes from the Complainants’ submissions that the Complaint of alleged violation of rights and freedoms is based on laws in place in the Respondent State (notably the Charities and Societies Proclamation, the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation and the Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation), which according to the Complainants, are being used by the Government to suppress certain fundamental rights of Ethiopians. The Commission, therefore, finds that the Communication satisfies the requirement of Article 56(4) of the Charter. 80. Article 56(5) of the Charter requires Communications to be ‘sent after exhausting domestic remedies, if any, unless it is obvious that this procedure is unduly prolonged.’ This requirement is based on the cardinal principle that the Respondent State must first have an ~ 13 ~ African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights 31 Bijilo Annex Layout, Kombo North District, West Coast Region, The Gambia, Phone: (220) 230 4361 Fax: (220) 441 05 04 Email: au-banjul@africa-union.org https:/achpr.au.int/