Alleged violation of Article 14 71. The complaint alleges that, members of the Angolan Armed Forces raided villages where victims were living and began shooting live ammunition down the street, deliberately targeting items that would explode, such as generators. In the resulting confusion, mass numbers of people were arrested, including some of the Complainants. Other Complainants were arrested at checkpoints on the street. Violence frequently accompanied these arrests and victims’ possessions were confiscated. In several cases, Angolan authorities attempted to extort money from Complainants before proceeding to arrest them. Following their arrest, Complainants were immediately taken to various detention centres where they were kept until their expulsion from the country. 72. The Complainant alleges that in the course of the arrest, victims’ property was confiscated by Angolan authorities, including television sets, shoes, wrist watches and clothing. It further claims that the abruptness of their arrest forced them to leave behind all property in Angola giving them no opportunity to make arrangements regarding the transport or disposal of their belongings. 73. The African Commission is of the view that the actions of the Respondent State as shown in the preceding paragraphs not only denied fair treatment of the victims with opportunity to challenge their deportation but also failed to allow them opportunity to deal with their belongings. The Complainant argues and the African Commission concurs that the type of deportations involved in the present case (i.e. mass expulsions without due process) challenge a series of rights and protections afforded by the Charter, including the right to property, and, as such, the measures taken by the Respondent State in its arrest, detention and subsequent deportation of the victims “called into question a whole series of rights recognized and guaranteed in the Charter,” including the right to property. While the right to property under the African Charter is not absolute, the Respondent State has not provided evidence to prove that its actions were necessitated either by public need or community interest. Without such a justification and the provision of adequate compensation determined by an impartial tribunal of competent jurisdiction, the African Commission finds the Respondent State’s actions in violation of the 25 right to property under Article 14 of the African Charter. Alleged violation of Article 15 74. Article 15 of the African Charter provides that: “Every individual shall have the right to work under equitable and satisfactory conditions, and shall receive equal pay for equal work”. 75. The Complainant alleges that the victims were in possession of official documents, including passports, visas, work and residence permits, allowing them to stay and work legally in Angola. The victims were required on a monthly basis to pay for their work permits that enabled them to continue working in the mines. Nevertheless, they were arrested on the grounds that foreigners were not permitted to engage in mining activities in Angola. 76. As indicated above, the Respondent State has regrettably not forwarded any arguments to refute any of the allegations made in this communications including the alleged violation under Article 15 of the African Charter. The facts indicate and the African Commission agrees that the abrupt expulsion without any possibility of due process or recourse to national courts to challenge the Respondent State’s actions severely compromised the victims’ right to continue working in Angola under equitable and satisfactory conditions. Accordingly, the African Commission holds that the Respondent States actions of arbitrary arrest, detention and subsequent deportation resulted in persons who were lawfully working in Angola losing their jobs in a manner that is in violation of Article 15 of the African Charter. Alleged violation of Article 2 77. The complaint alleges that the circumstances under which the victims were expelled constitute a violation of Article 2 of the African Charter in that the victims had been living in Angola for varying lengths of time, after having obtained official documentation, including visas, residence and work permits, in order to lawfully reside and work in Angola. Several of the victims were engaged in diamond mining and had paid appropriate sums of money each month to obtain the required licenses. Nevertheless, despite possession of proper documentation, the victims were arrested, detained and