never informed of the crime that the authorities purported to suspect he was
involved; ii) he was detained for 101 days, therefore his detention cannot be
characterized as "provisional", as the Sudanese Criminal Procedure Code
provides for a maximum of three days detention for purposes of inquiry and up
to two weeks without charge; iii) he was never brought before any court, not
even before the Special Court in which those arrested under the law are to be
tried. These facts the Complainant submits amounts to a clear violation of
Article 6 of the African Charter.
Alleged violation of Article 7 of the Africa Charter
127. The Complainant submits that the Respondent State violated Article 7 of the
African Charter by failing to bring his cause before a court of law during his
period of detention. The Complainant refers to the African Commission's
decisions in Abdel Hadi & Others v Republic of Sudan and Purohit and Moore v The
Gambia wherein the Commission held that anyone deprived of their liberty
through arrest or detention must be presented with the opportunity to challenge
the matter of their detention before a judicial body, and such judicial body must
without delay decide on the lawfulness of the arrest or detention. 47
128. The Complainant further submits that the right to habeas corpus is not
obtainable under the Emergency and Protection of Public Safety Act (1997),
therefore he had no means to challenge the basis for his detention. The
Complainant explains that the Emergency law grants the NISS officers the sole
discretion to determine the length of his detention. He points out that this is a
clear violation of Article 7 as held by the Commission in lnterights, ASADHO
and Madam 0. Disu v Democratic republic of Congo.48
Alleged violation of Article 9 of the African Charter
129. The Complainant submits that the Respondent State violated his right to
freedom of expression as prescribed under Article 9 of the African Charter. He
avers that the arrest, beating and detention were done with the aim of punishing
him for his journalistic work and to further intimidate him and other jotu-nalists
from future reporting on sensitive issues.
130. The Complainant elaborates on the obligation of the Respondent State as
prescribed in the African Commission's Declaration of Principles on Freedom