207. Article 5 of the Charter reads as follows: Every individual shall have the right to respect of dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited. 208. Article 7 of the ICCPR provides as follows: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation. 209. The Court notes that while the Charter does not define torture in Article 5, in the case of Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania it held that the definition from Article 1 of the CAT is authoritative.60 210. Article 1(1) of CAT defines torture as any act, physical or mental intentionally inflicted on a person for any reason based on discrimination of any kind with the consent or acquiescence of public official or any other person acting in official capacity. It follows therefore that torture can result from actions or omissions of state agents. 211. The Court recalls its decision in Yassin Rashid Maige v. United Republic of Tanzania that the prohibition on torture is to be interpreted as widely as possible and must include prohibition of actions which cause serious physical or psychological suffering. Furthermore, that the severity of physical or mental pain inflicted on a person is the determinant factor of what amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.61 60 Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (20 November 2015) 1 AfCLR 465, § 144. Yassin Rashid Maige v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No. 018/2017, Judgment of 5 September 2023, § 135. 61 49