32. The
Complainant submits
that this
Communication
is
admissible
under
the
African
Charter, noting that the conditions under Article 56 are cumulative. The Complainant
submits that this Communication clearly indicates that it is submitted by the Freedom
and Justice Party of Egypt, in respect of the Victims sentenced to death. It states that the
Communication includes full contact details for both the Complainant and its lawyers
and that no question of anonymity arises.
33. The Complainant further states that the Communication is compatible with the African
Charter because the facts contained within it are sufficient to demonstrate prima [acie
violations of Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the Charter. The Complainant submits that the
Respondent State has been a Party to the African Charter since 1981 and that the matters
addressed in the Communication occurred after the Charter became applicable in the
territory of the Respondent State.
34. The Complainant submits that it is competent to bring the Communication, as there is
nothing in the Charter to limit tlie definition of Complainant to persons who are victims
of the alleged violations, and that the Commission has previously held in Maria Baes v
Zaire' that the Complainant need not be a national of a State Party to the Charter to submit
a Communication.
35. The Complainant respectfully submits that there-is nothing disparaging or insulting in
the present Communication and that it records factua1 events.
36. In
elation to the requirement that Communications shall be considered if they are not
base
exclusively
on
news
disseminated
through
the
mass
media,
the Complainant
submits that in the jurisprudence of the Commission this requirement does not prevent
Complainants from relying on any material drawn from the mass media, rather that it
should not be exclusively based on mass media.> The Complainant submits that in the
present case it does not have free access to the proceedings, and that even defense lawyers
were barred from accessing the proceedings. Furthermore, the Complainant submits that
it has had trouble communicating with lawyers and human rights activists in Egypt.
37. The Complainant, however, submits that the Communication is not exclusively based on
news
disseminated
internationally
Watch
4
5
and
through
recognized
Amnesty
the
mass
media,
non-governmental
International;
and
also
organizations,
statements
of
the
draws
such
United
on
as
reports
Human
Nations
and
from
Rights
other
Communication 31/89 - Maria Baes v Zaire (1995) A C H P R .
Communication 147 /95-149/96 - Sir Dowda K. Jawara v The Gambia (2000) ACHPR para 24.
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