Chapter 5 • Human Rights and Arrest, Pre-Trial and Administrative Detention It is further evident that, where a person is kept in detention in spite of a judicial order of release, this is also contrary to article 9(1) of the Covenant.21 ***** The prohibition of arbitrariness also of course means that deprivations of liberty must not be motivated by discrimination. As further explained in Chapter 13, the States parties to the human rights treaties examined in this Manual undertake to ensure the enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction on such grounds as race, colour, sex, language, religion, and political or other opinion. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights consequently concluded that arrests and detentions carried out by the Rwandan Government “on grounds of ethnic origin alone, ... constitute arbitrary deprivation of the liberty of an individual”; such acts are thus “clear evidence of a violation of” article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.22 In another case the African Commission held that the “indefinite detention of persons can be interpreted as arbitrary as the detainee does not know the extent of his punishment”; article 6 of the African Charter had been violated in this case because the victims concerned were detained indefinitely after having protested against torture.23 Furthermore, it constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty within the meaning of article 6 of the African Charter to detain people without charges and without the possibility of bail; in this particular case against Nigeria the victims had been held in these conditions for over three years following elections.24 ***** The Inter-American Court on Human Rights has held, with regard to article 7(2) and (3) of the American Convention on Human Rights, that “persuant to the first of these provisions, no person may be deprived of his or her personal freedom except for reasons, cases or circumstances expressly defined by law (material aspect) and, furthermore, subject to strict adherence to the procedures objectively set forth in that law (formal aspect). The second provision addresses the issue that no one may be subjected to arrest or imprisonment for reasons and by methods which, although classified as legal, could be deemed to be incompatible with the respect for the fundamental rights of the individual because, among other 21 See, for example, Communication No. R.1/5, M. H. Valentini de Bazzano et al. v. Uruguay (Views adopted on 15 August 1977), in UN doc. GAOR, A/34/40, para. 10 at p. 129. 22 ACHPR, Organisation Contre la Torture and Others v. Rwanda, Communications Nos. 27/89, 46/91, 49/91, and 99/93, decision adopted during the 20th Ordinary session, October 1996, para. 28; for the text of the decision, see http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/comcases/27-89_46-91_49-91_99-93.html. 23 ACHPR, World Organisation against Torture and Others v. Zaire, Communications Nos. 25/89, 47/90, 56/91 and 100/93, decision adopted during the 19th session, March 1996, para. 67; for the text see http://www.up.ac.za/chr/. 24 ACHPR, Constitutional Rights Project and Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Communication No. 102/93, decision adopted on 31 October 1998, para. 55 of the text published at the following web site: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/comcases/102-93.html. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers 167