27. The Respondent State maintains that the fact of the Applicant being
arrested at night with her partner in an apartment and convicted for adultery
cannot be considered a violation of her human rights. It contends that this
crime was proven by a forensic test carried out by the Sub-Directorate of
Criminal and Scientific Laboratories of the Ministry of the Interior. The tests,
the Respondent State avers, established the presence of semen matching
the characteristics of Hannibal.
*
28. The Applicant on her part avers that the Respondent State is misguided
about the Court’s jurisdiction and the human rights it protects, and that it
confuses human rights with crimes against humanity. She also submits that
the Respondent State distorts the content of her Application by claiming that
it is vague, which is not the case, since the Application alleges ten human
rights violations supported by evidence.
***
29. The Court recalls, in accordance with Article 3(1) of the Protocol, that it has
jurisdiction to hear all cases submitted to it concerning an alleged violation
of the rights guaranteed by the Charter, the Protocol and any other human
rights instrument ratified by the State concerned.
30. The Court notes that the Applicant alleges violation of the rights guaranteed
by Articles 3, 4, 6 and 7 of the Charter and Articles 9 and 14(1) of the ICCPR.
As the Respondent State is a Party to the Charter and the ICCPR, the Court
has jurisdiction to interpret and apply them in the present case, and to
examine the violations alleged by the Applicant in light of the rights provided
for by said articles.8
Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (20 November 2015), 1 AfCLR 465, §45;
Kennedy Owino Onyachi and another v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (28 September 2017), 2
AfCLR 65, § 34 to 36; Jibu Amir Alias Mussa and another v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits and
reparations (28 November 2019), 3 AfCLR 629, § 18 Masoud Rajabu v. United Republic of Tanzania,
(merits and reparations), (25 June 2021), 5 AfCLR 282, § 21.
8
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