continued detention, the Complainant was tried by the Special Criminal Tribunal which was later established. 80. The Complainant concludes that these measures taken between 2008 and 2013 on the basis of charges which had already led to the initial indictment of 6 August 2008, despite their unlawful nature and in violation of a court decision, engage the responsibility of the Respondent State under Article 6 of the Charter. Alleged violation of Article 7 81. Regarding the violation of Article 7 of the Charter, the Complainant submits that the Respondent State failed in its obligation to respect or protect the right to be presumed innocent, the right to defence and the right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial court or tribunal. The right to be presumed innocent, Article 7(1)(b) 82. In order to justify a violation of the right to be presumed innocent, the Complainant mentions the several public statements made by Government authorities clearly stating that the officials arrested as part of the “Operation Sparrow Hawk” had embezzled funds for which they had been summoned and detained. As evidence, the Complainant underscores an interview granted by the Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Justice to the daily newspaper Le Jour, No. 710 edition published on 16 June 2010. Citing an excerpt from the interview, the Complainant quotes the following statement made by the Minister: “I challenge anyone to prove that those who have been arrested are innocent…Those who say they are innocent have cleverly hidden what they have stolen”. 22

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