Merits 6. Article …Every 4 of human the being shall African be entitled to Charter respect for reads: his life ... Shootings by police officers are a violation of this right. 7. Article 5 of the African Charter provides as follows: All forms of ... torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited. The conditions of overcrowding and acts of beating and torture that took place in prisons in Malawi contravened this article. Aspects of the treatment of Vera and Orton Chirwa such as excessive solitary confinement, shackling within a cell, extremely poor quality food and denial of access to adequate medical care, were also in contravention of this article. 8. Article 6 of the African Charter reads: Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person. ... The massive and arbitrary arrests of office workers, trade unionists, Roman Catholic bishops and students violated this article. The arbitrary detention Mr Aleke Banda suffered is likewise a violation of Article 6. 9. Mr Banda was not allowed recourse to the national courts to challenge the violation of his fundamental right to liberty as guaranteed by Article 6 of the African Charter and the constitution of Malawi. Furthermore, Aleke Banda was detained indefinitely without trial. The Commission finds that Mr Banda’s imprisonment violated Article 7 paragraph 1(a) and (d) of the African Charter. 10. Vera and Orton Chirwa were tried before the Southern Region Traditional Court without being defended by a counsel. This constitutes a violation of Article 7 (1) (c) of the African Charter. 11. The Commission notes that Malawi has undergone important political change after the submission of the communications. Multiparty elections have been held, resulting in a new government. The Commission hopes that a new era of respect for the human rights of Malawi’s citizens has begun.