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5. The
essence of political detention
Whatever its name
and whether it is called political arrest or administrative detention, it
represents oppressive and illegal detention. This kind of arrest is always
used when the concerned authority is unable to prove a charge against the
apprehended person. It thus becomes a measure that violates general
principles of law. Those principles are enshrined in Article 11 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides that “Every
suspect is innocent until lawfully convicted in a public trial that
provides all necessary safeguards for his defense”.
Consequently, political or administrative detention or preventive arrest
takes place when an order is issued by a responsible officer to arrest a
person without an official charge and without a subsequent trial taking
place.
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