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AC p
African Commission on
Human and Peoples' Rights
Human Rights our
Collective Responsibility
equal protection under the law, ~s being Parliamentarians, their
membership was on a partisan basis. The Commission considers that
insofar as the same set of laws were a~plied to the Victim's case as would
have been applied to any other Parliamentarian, the Complainant's
argument in this respect cannot stand. It is the Commission's view that
based on the submissions of both parties, due process within the context of
the Privileges Committee was follo,ed, which resulted in Parliament
finding the Victim guilty of contemft and imposed a punishment of
imprisonment provided by law. The Commission therefore does not find a
violation of Article 3 in this regard.
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189. Other facets of the facts in issue as i relates.t9·i~e ri~ht to a fair hearing
is further considered below, under the Commission's analysis of Article 7
of the African Charter.
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Alleged violation of Article 4 and 5 o(th~' Afric'~ri'~'
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190.
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Article 4 of the AfricanChar.ter:e~~{n~.il:t.·eright to li$.,;"andArticle 5
provides t~~:~
indivi41'~1shal;
ha~,t
th:';~~"t9'
the respect of the
dignity inhi~:en(i{l'~,.h. umanl'b~~~g.and;~c(thereco~ition of his
legal stcltus,:/\1\l1
forms-of exploitation-and degradation of man,
parti~,pJarly sI~\rery;' slave ~ade;'torture, cruel, inhuman or
degr~.~.ingpunishment and treatment shall be prohibited.
191. The Complainant submits th~t the attacks directed at the Victim's life
amounted to torture.asthey include: the extra-judicial killing of two of his
empl.by;~~~;,:the.rape
e~~loyees and the miscarriage suffered
by his WIfe as 'a result of the InVaSIOn.The Respondent State does not
contest tl}.~ factual 'accuracy of the Icomplainant's version of events.
Instead, it Cl~guesthat.it was not awar<tof all the allegations raised by the
Complainant.and where it was aware, it investigated or had been impeded
in its attempt-to .investigate by the absence of key witnesses, including the
Victim.
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192. Article 5 of the African Charter fs aimed at the protection of both
human dignity and the physical and thental integrity of the individual.F
In Sudan Human Rights Organizationl & Centre on Housing Rights and
Evictions
(COHRE)
v Sudan, the COiission
I
57 Communication
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adopted the defin~:~~&P~
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279/03-296/05 - Sudan Huma1 Rights Organization & dJ~re 0
Rights and Evictions (COHRE) v Sudan para 155.
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