(:'i-ii'ACHPR .~J African Commission on Human Rights our Collective Responsibility Human and Peoples' Rights 100. The Commission notes that there is no evidence that the law itself provides for differentiated protection between opponents or critics of the government and opponents or non-critics of the government, so the question of equal protection by the law does not arise here. In the case of equality before the law, i.e. before the courts, the Commission is of the opinion that the failure to address the alleged opponents' rights, amounts to discriminatory treatment, which constitutes a violation of the right to equality before the courts and tribunals. !-', ~:"1A:~'· 101. With regard to discrimination, the Commi"ssion recalls the doctrine in Equality Now42, according to which the victim must always provide a comparator. If there is a plausible element of comparison, the Respondent State must provide credible grounds to justify the discriminationx'I'he Commission also notes that when it comes to opponents, it has been its understanding that the element of comparison arises from the simple fact that there are people from the regime or supporters of the government who are free to express themselves without being victims of repression that is reserved for opponents. 102. The Commission recalls that it has referred to Article 2 in the broader context of the human rights situation in Africa, when it urged the Egyptian government to "put an end to the harassment, arbitrary arrest, detention and sentencing of journalists, human rights defendants, and individuals who express dissenting viewsregarding the Government's actions."43 103. The Commission has established jurisprudence, in which political belief and opinion have been raised as a ground for protection against discrimination. Specifically, in Sir Dauida Jawara v The Gambia, the Commission held that by suspending the Constitutional Billof Rights: the government therefore restricted the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed therein, and, by implication, the rights enshrined in the Charter .... The suspension of the Bill of Rights and consequently the application of the Charter was not only a violation of Article 1 but also a restriction on the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter, thus violating Article 2 of the Charter as well. "44 ~u~, 42 r'U1":~' f'?~o~s 43 Resolution on the Deteriorating Human Rights Situation in the Arab RepubliQ::.~fEgpt-A~JRj Res.297 (EXT.OSjXVII) 20,28 February 2015, para 3. 44 Sir Dat.Vda K. [auiara v Gambia (The), Communication 147195-149/96,.paras 4~I~d05. /18 (" An O'f)an of tha African e~)) Union ~13. ~\ ~ 9. r U ' ~\' 'u "_ UA 2'£;;: t..~) ~[ The African commi:i%n }R'.t'u~ ~~~e,s' Rights 31 Bijilo Annex Layout. Komti N~rtW'bisW~p..We~t,~ast Region Phone: (22 OO'~~\~~220) 4410504 Email: au:'oaA1UI®~fFfca-union.ore https:/achpr.au.intlCJ 0 D