ACHPR
African Commission on
Human and Peoples' Rights
Human r,ights our
Collective Hesponsibilitv
ago, and the third Communication
decided in 2016, was dismissed
the legal and factual issues advanced
in one of the two earlier Communications.
Indeed, in Article 19 v. Eritrea, the Commission
provides
ample safeguards
charge or trial including
Accordingly,
held that the Eritrean Constitution
against persons who are arrested and detained
without
the right to petition the court for a writ of Habeas Corpus.
the Commission
to at least attempt
for re-litigating
held that it was incumbent
to exhaust domestic remedies
on those Complainants
notwithstanding
their claims that
doing so would be futile?'.
56. The
above
notwithstanding,
Communications
arguments
the
admissible.
adduced
The Commission
by the Complainants
infer from the circumstances
ineffective=.
detention
Commission
engender
the
above
that even though
the case that domestic
the
ongoing
remedies
were
incommunicado
State's
positive
obligation
the Commission
declared
that when a person is being
held in detention
and accused of committing
Member
State,
through
promptly
before.a
its appropriate
competent
reasoned
held that cases alleging
the Respondent
process of law. Accordingly,
declared
were not sufficient, it could nevertheless
surrounding
The Commission
still
to afford
a crime, it is the responsibility
judicial
bodies,
to bring
due
of the
the person
court of law ,to enable him or her to be tried-".
Further, if it is shown that the State had ample notice, even if not within the context
of domestic
remedies,
and is expected
57, This positive
the State may still be said to have been properly
to take appropriate
obligation
steps to remedy the alleged violation-s.
arises because
incommunicado
detention
or interrogation
'prolonged
incommunicado
to be a form
Accordingly,
without due process safeguards'.
of cruel,
detention
inhuman
punishment
in Article 19 v. Eritrea specifically, the Commission
victims incommunicado for over three years demonstrates
due process of the law and in particular,
further
Additionally,
and/ or solitary confinement
or degrading
a
and
by itself,
could be held
treatment'<.
found that holding
a prima facie violation
Article 7 of the African Charter.
that, by not taking any action to remedy
months after the Commission
'constitutes
such as torture or ill-
gross human rights violation that can lead to other violations
treatment
informed
the situation
of
It held
more than twelve
had been seized of the matter, the State had failed to