226.
The Court holds that the provisions of Article 12 of Law No. 2018-13 of 2 July
2018 amending and supplementing Law No. 2001-37 of 27 August 2002 on Judicial
Organization in the Republic of Benin as amended , and creating CRIET, constitute
a violation of the Applicant's right to equality before the law and to equal protection
of the law.
C. Alleged violation of the Applicant's right to liberty and to security of his
person
227.
Invoking Article 6 of the Charter, as well as Articles 3 and 9 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the Applicant argues that his right to liberty has been
violated. He considers his arrest and detention in the case of the discovery of 18
kilogrammes of cocaine in a container of goods he ordered, inappropriate, unjust
and arbitrary, adding that although he is the recipient of the container, at no stage
in the transport chain did he intervene and that , consequently, his arrest and
detention do not meet the legal conditions and guarantees on the deprivation of
freedom as protected by international human rights law and international
jurisprudence.
228.
Referring to his social and political status, the Applicant affirms that as a "food
processing business tycoon" and a politician ranked 3rd in the 2016 presidential
elections just behind the current President of the Republic who came 2nd, the
standard would have been to make him report to the authorities as per their
dictates, rather than subject him to eight days in custody during which he was
interrogated only once whereas he presented all the guarantees of representation .
*
229.
The Respondent State submits that the Applicant's detention was lawful
because it was executed in accordance with the law which provides that the
duration of police custody may be up to eight days maximum, adding that in this
case, the Benin justice system took all the necessary care and did not go beyond
the maximum of eight days.
I