if necessary, the criminal prosecution of those responsible. The Complainant maintains that it is the duty of the state to ensure through its police force that, where there is a breakdown of law and order, the perpetrators are arrested and brought before the domestic courts of that country. Therefore any criminal processes that flow from this action, including undertaking investigations to make the case for the prosecution are the responsibility of the state concerned and the state cannot abdicate that duty. 31. The Complainant argues that considering the pattern of harassment and intimidation, including the vandalism and death threats which may have been intended to generate a fear of lynching (e.g. the attack on his home in June, 2011, and the hostile occupation of the Popular Party's headquarters in December, 2011), as well as the fact that he has been publicly vilified by the Luanda party secretary of the MPLA, Bento Bento, and the latter's subsequent appointment as governor of Luanda province in Angola, the requirement of exhaustion of domestic remedies for admissibility of a Communication has been satisfied. 32. It is submitted further that the Victim reported his complaints of threats and vandalism to the police on a number of times and no investigations or any other action has been taken. Instead of redress through an effective investigation of his complaint, the Victim continued to receive a wide range of death threats to his life, his family members and his close associates - which threats effectively impeded his access to local remedies. 33. The Victim also lodged a complaint with the Attorney General based on the corruption report but to-date no action has been taken by the Attorney General. The Complainants states that the Attorney General informed the Victim that his Office will not proceed with the complaint against the President as it lacks competence under the Angolan Constitution. There is, therefore, no remedy available under the Angolan legal system. Rather than investigating the complaint, the Attorney General informed the Victim that he was going to be charged with subversion, and was subjected to five hours of questioning by police officials and prosecutors at the National Directorate of Criminal Investigations. Hence, it is the Complainant's contention that there are no available domestic remedies, and, even if there are, they have been exhausted or are otherwise ineffective in the circumstances. 34. In addition, the Complainant points out that any attempt to pursue judicial remedies at this point would necessarily involve undue delay, particularly as Angola is nearing elections. In short, no effective legal remedies exist that might be invoked to protect Mendes's right to life and other fundamental rights, particularly in view of the risks to his person, family and associates that such further complaints could entail. 35. The Complainant further contends that the Victim could not exhaust local remedies because there are no provisions in the national laws of Angola allowing them to seek remedies for the violations alleged in respect of the allegations of corruption. Articles 133 and 135 of the Constitution of Angola provide for immunity for the head of state during and after his or her term of office. This implies that no local remedy can be sought on the failure to investigate the allegations of embezzlement complaint. The Complainant avers that the Attorney General indeed informed the Victim that his Office does not have the competence to proceed with the complaint against the President. 36. The Complainant further submits that the issue of death threats and vandalism of the Victim's property is intertwined with that of embezzlement of state funds by the President of the Respondent State, since the death threats emanated from the fact that the Victim lodged a complaint against such embezzlement with the Attorney General. It therefore urges the Commission to find that the President is indeed immune under the Constitution of Angola in respect of the embezzlement accusations and, therefore, no local remedies are available to the Victim. The Complainant submits that the Commission should dispose of all issues simultaneously, including those on the death threats and vandalism since these issues cannot be divorced from each other. 37. In addition to the foregoing, the Complainant stresses that the climate of violence and repression that accompanied the planning and holding of street demonstrations in Angola, detailed in the complaint, has made the exercise of fundamental rights for those involved in planning or participating in demonstrations, or defending those arrested or whose rights are violated at demonstrations, quite dangerous. According to the Complainant, the climate of fear existing in the country and the failure of the government to respond effectively supports the argument that there is no effective domestic remedy available to address the Victim's complaints. The Complainants argue that under the circumstances, his attempts to secure access to justice were sufficient, and he should [list=a][*] either be deemed to have exhausted the available remedies; or [*] be exempted from exhausting any available remedies due to their unavailability, ineffectiveness and insufficiency. 4