46. The African Commission delivered its decision on admissibility of this communication at its rd th 33 Ordinary Session and informed the parties of its decision on 10 June 2003. The Secretariat of the African Commission further requested the parties to forward their submissions on the merits of the communication within 3 months. Whereas the Complainants forwarded their written submissions on the merits of the communication, none were received from the Respondent State. It is an established principle of the African Commission that where allegations of violations of provisions of the African Charter go uncontested by the Government concerned, the African Commission must decide on the facts as given. This principle also conforms to the practice of other international human rights adjudicatory bodies. In the present communication therefore, the African Commission is left with no alternative but to proceed and deliver a decision on the merits based on the submissions of the 4 Complainants. Although the African Commission has in this decision referred to the oral submissions rd made by the Respondent State during the 33 Ordinary Session, especially as they relate to some issues that touch upon the merits of the communication, the Respondent State’s failure to present comprehensive submissions on the merits has been done at its own peril. th 47. By Note Verbale dated 20 May 2002, the Respondent State informed the African Commission that the 11 persons had indeed been detained for “conspiring to overthrow the legal government of the country in violation of relevant OAU resolutions, colluding with hostile foreign powers with a view to compromising the sovereignty of the country, undermining Eritrean national security and endangering Eritrean society and the general welfare of its people” . The Respondent State further stated that such detention was in conformity with the criminal code of the country. In their oral submissions made rd during the 33 Ordinary Session in May 2003, the Respondent State further admitted that they had not at the time brought the 11 detainees before any court of law. 48. The Complainants aver that the 11 persons who were former Eritrean Government officials, had been openly critical of the Eritrean government policies and as a direct result of their open letter criticising the government of Eritrea for acting in an illegal and unconstitutional manner, they were arrested and detained for committing “crimes against the nation’s security and sovereignty” . 49. The Complainants state that the 11 detainees have since September 2001 been held incommunicado and have never been brought before any courts of law in violation of Article 17(4) of the Constitution of the State of Eritrea and Article 6 of the African Charter. Article 17(4) of the Constitution provides that every person who is held in detention must be brought before a court of law within 48 hours of his arrest and no person shall be held in custody beyond such a period without the authority of the court. 50. The Complainants submit that the above-mentioned acts by the Respondent State violate Articles 2, 6 and 7(1) of the African Charter. 51. Article 2 of the African Charter provides: “Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognised and guaranteed in the present Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, or any other opinion, national or social origin, fortune, birth or other status.” Article 6 of the African Charter provides: “Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person. No one may be deprived of his freedom except for reasons and conditions previously laid down by law. In particular, no one may be arbitrarily arrested or detained.” Article 7.1 of the African Charter provides: " 1. Every individual shall have the right to have his cause heard. This comprises [a] The right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts of violating his fundamental rights as recognised and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force; [b] The right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty by a competent court or tribunal; [c] The right to defence, including the right to be defended by counsel of his choice; [d] The right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial court or tribunal; " 52. Although Article 6 of the African Charter guarantees the right to liberty and security of the person, this is not an absolute right because the African Charter allows the deprivation of this right through lawful means. The African Charter specifically prohibits arbitrary arrests and detention.