Please see the following report from the Independent. I cannot believe this.
Please let someone tell me that this is not about to happen. The authorities
are not about to cover this case up. They murdered poor Ebrima Barry and now
some corrupt doctors are trying to cook up some fishy cause of death. I hope
the Cuban doctors that participated in the autopsy will also be called to
testify under rigorous examination. This is pathetic. Where is this Dr. Sam
character from? I am not a doctor but I would have thought that if Ebrima
Barry had such a chronic illness, serious enough to cause his death, the
symptoms of the illness would have manifested itself to his family and
friends. I hope the journalists made a mistake in their reporting because I
just cannot figure out how someone can call himself a doctor and then make
such ridiculous medical conclusions. This is outrageous and I must say that
the government is toying with another demonstration. Their bogus commission
of inquiry report should teach them that the April 10 and 11 incidents
occurred because the Gambian public was denied justice in the Ebrima Barry
case. They are trying very hard to repeat the same mistake. Commonsense
tells us that Ebrima Barry was murdered by those firemen. So why are the
authorities going to such lengths to try and ensure that the firemen go
unpunished for their crimes? I hope the prosecutor in this case (hand-picked
by Secka) counters Dr. Sam's dubious testimony with expert testimony showing
that Ebrima Barry's death could not have been caused by what Dr. Sam and
those Cuban doctors are saying. The prosecutor should do some research on
the symptoms of chronic hepatitis and check whether Ebrima Barry suffered
from such symptoms prior to his murder. This is insane. Surely the beating
and the torture Ebrima Barry sustained had something to do with his death.
Even if Barry had an existing illness, that does not absolve his attackers
from culpability. Even novice lawyers (let alone judges) are aware of the
legal maxim that 'you should take your victim as you find him'. Meaning,
even if Barry had hepatitis and was killed by a blow which would not kill a
person that does not suffer from such ailment, his attackers would still be
guilty of murder. What these slimy characters are trying to do is to
neutralize that maxim and declare hepatitis as the sole cause of death, as
opposed to a catalyst. For starters, prosecutors have to challenge the
conclusion of Dr. Sam that Barry suffered from chronic hepatitis. If Sam
turn out to be right, the prosecutor should surely be able to prove that
hepatitis was not the sole cause of death. The blows Barry sustained as the
result of the torture, was the cause of death. Albeit, hepatitis might have
played a role. This is simply unbelievable. Especially if you take into
consideration the fact the Sam was probably a prosecution witness. You have
government officials coming in to sabotage the government's (the people's)
case. Only in Gambia.
KB
_______________________________________________________________________

BARRY'S DEATH WAS CAUSED BY A CHRONIC DISEASE
- says chief pathologist

The chief pathologist at the Royal Victoria Hospital Dr. Thomas Sam has told
the High Court that the late Ebrima Barry's death was caused by a chronic
hepatitis of about six months old.

Dr. Sam was giving evidence on the post mortem report made on Ebrima Barry
after his death in March 2000 by Dr. Raphael of the Cuban medical team. Dr.
Sam said that when he returned from a trip to South Africa, a report was
passed on to him, which he said was made in two stages, the preliminary and
the final.

He said the preliminary stage was based on what was observed by the naked
eye while the final was based on a microscopic study carried out by two
Cuban doctors and himself as the head of the unit. Dr. Sam further told the
court that the report showed excessive bleeding from the liver which he said
led to a blockage of the blood flow in the lungs. He said it was due to the
blockage of the blood flow which led to Barry's death, which he said is
normally caused by serious chronic diseases. He however expressed surprise
that Ebrima Barry was able to be walking about with such a disease.

Ebrima Barry died on March 9, 2000 while he was student at Forster's
Technical School in Brikama. He was said to have had some problems with his
teacher who allegedly reported the matter to the Fire Brigade office in
Brikama where some firemen allegedly subjected him to some beating and
torture, which allegedly resulted in his death.

His death was one of the reasons that led to a confrontation between the
Gambia Students Union (GAMSU) and the authorities calumniating in the bloody
student disturbances of April 10th and 11th 2000 leading to the death of
more than 14 school children and the maiming of several more as well as
heavy destruction to property.

The case was presided over Justice T.A Kabalata while the state was
represented by an independent prosecutor Nosa Avan and the fire officers
accused of Ebrima Barry's murder were represented by Lamin Jobarteh, a
private legal practitioner. The case was adjourned to September 28.





_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------