53. Evidence before the African Commission indicates that the 11 persons have been held incommunicado and without charge since they were arrested in September 2001. This fact has not been contested by the Respondent State. They are being held in custody and have been cut off from communication with the outside world, with no access to their lawyers or families. Their whereabouts are unknown putting their fate under the exclusive control of the Respondent State. 54. The African Commission on two occasions wrote letters of appeal to the President of the State of Eritrea informing him about the communication before the African Commission and requested him to intervene in the matter to ensure that the 11 persons are removed from secret detention and brought th before the courts of law in Eritrea. In a Note Verbale dated 20 May 2002, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Eritrea informed the African Commission that the 11 persons were being held in appropriate government facilities, that they had not been ill-treated and had access to medical services. The Ministry assured the African Commission that the government was making every effort to bring them before an appropriate court of law as early as possible. The African Commission notes that to date it has not received any information or substantiation from the Respondent State demonstrating that the 11 persons were being held in appropriate detention facilities and that they had been produced before courts of law. 55. Incommunicado detention is a gross human rights violation that can lead to other violations such as torture or ill-treatment or interrogation without due process safeguards. Of itself, prolonged incommunicado detention and/or solitary confinement could be held to be a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment. The African Commission is of the view that all detentions must be subject to basic human rights standards. There should be no secret detentions and States must disclose the fact that someone is being detained as well as the place of detention. Furthermore, every detained person must have prompt access to a lawyer and to their families and their rights with regards to physical and mental health must be protected as well as entitlement to proper conditions of 5 detention. 56. The African Commission holds the view that the lawfulness and necessity of holding someone in custody must be determined by a court or other appropriate judicial authority. The decision to keep a person in detention should be open to review periodically so that the grounds justifying the detention can be assessed. In any event, detention should not continue beyond the period for which the State can provide appropriate justification. Therefore, persons suspected of committing any crime must be promptly charged with legitimate criminal offences and the State should initiate legal proceedings that should comply with fair trial standards as stipulated by the African Commission in its Resolution on the 6 Right to Recourse and Fair Trial and elaborated upon in its Guidelines on the Right to Fair Trial and 7 Legal Assistance in Africa 57. In the present communication, the Respondent State did not provide the African Commission with any details regarding the specific laws under which the 11 persons were detained but instead generally states that their detention is in“consonance with the existing criminal code …and other relevant national and international instruments”. The 11 persons were detained on account of their political beliefs and are being held in secret detention without any access to the courts, lawyers or family. Regrettably, these persons’ rights are continually being violated even today, as the Respondent State is still holding them in secret detention in blatant violation of their rights to liberty and recourse to 8 fair trial 58. The Complainants further allege that the 11 persons were arrested and detained because they expressed opinions that were critical of the Respondent State. The Complainants submit that this amounts to a violation of Article 9.2 of the African Charter, which provides “every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law” . 59. The right to freedom of expression has been recognised by the African Commission as a fundamental individual human right which is also a cornerstone of democracy and a means of 9 ensuring the respect for all human rights and freedoms. Nonetheless, this right carries with it certain duties and responsibilities and it is for this reason that certain restrictions on freedom of expression are allowed. However, Article 9.2 as well as Principle II (2) of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom 10 of Expression in Africa categorically state that such restrictions have to be provided for by law.