----- Original Message -----
From: Beran jeng <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 4:04 PM
Subject: One Year After April 10, Amnesty Country Report Indicts Security
Forces


> One Year After April 10, Amnesty Country Report Indicts Security Forces
>
>
>
> The Independent (Banjul)
>
> June 22, 2001
> Posted to the web June 22, 2001
>
> Banjul, the Gambia
>
> Amnesty International's annual country report for 2001 on The Gambia has
> accused the security forces of torture and ill treatment of students
during
> the April 2000 student demonstrations. The report states that at least 14
> people were killed and dozens injured when the security forces used
> "excessive and indiscriminate force to break up demonstrations" organized
by
> the Gambia Students Union to protest the alleged torture to death of a
> schoolboy and the rape of a school girl allegedly by members of the
security
> forces. It went on to state that several of the dead were less than 18
years
> old.
>
> "Neither the findings of a commission of inquiry subsequently set up by
the
> government nor those of the inquiry carried out by the coroner were made
> public by the end of 2000," the report states. It adds that the chairman
of
> the commission of inquiry was reported to have publicly acknowledged that
> some members of the security forces were found to be largely responsible
for
> the deaths of the students.
>
> The report goes on to state that many of the students arrested during and
> after the demonstrations were tortured and ill treated by the security
> forces, "including the National Intelligence Agency", while they were in
> custody. It also refers to the arrest of the Secretary General of the
> opposition United Democratic Party Ousainou Darboe and several other UDP
> members in Basse in June and their subsequent charge with the murder of an
> APRC supporter. It states that the arrest followed an alleged ambush of a
> UDP convoy by members of "a pro-government militia".
>
> "It appears that this prosecution was intended to silence the UDP and
> prevent Ousainou Darboe from standing in the presidential elections in
2001,
> as no credible evidence was reported to have emerged against the five,"
the
> report states. The report also refers to the arrest and continuous
detention
> in January and June of some civilians and members of the military on
> suspicion of plotting a coup, who it states were all later held
> incommunicado for long periods without being charged. It mentions in
> particular the arrest and detention of Lieutenant Landing Sanneh on
> suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government, and how he was held
> incommunicado for several months before he was charged for treason. "It
> appeared that at least one of his confessions was obtained after a death
> threat," the report states.
>
> The report also mentions the cases of Momodou Ousman Saho (Dumo),
Lieutenant
> Lalo Jaiteh, Lieutenant Omar Darboe, Ebrima Barrow, Momodou Marena and
> Ebrima Yarbo, who it states were all arrested in June 2000 and held
> incommunicado for more than four months. For at least three weeks after
> their arrest, the report states that the authorities denied to their
> families that they were being detained. "At the end of 2000, the six were
> being held at Mile II Prisons, where detention conditions were reportedly
> harsh," it indicates.
>
> The report concludes by referring to the continued arbitrary detention and
> threats of violence against journalists by the security forces. While it
> states that Decree 70/71, which unduly restricted freedom of expression
> remained in force. It gave as an example the arrest and brief detention in
> July last year of Baba Galleh Jallow and Alhagie Mbye of The Independent
for
> the publication of a prison hunger strike, which supposedly took place at
> Mile Two Prisons.
>
>
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