I have not been able to read postings for a long period, but today I found
time for some 350 mails.
I am glad to see the information on the release of Mr. Nyassi, and he is OK.
But now I will wait and see IF THE GAMBIA IS A STATE WHICH CAN HOST A HUMAN
RIGHT CENTER, as I understand from the information given, will be based in
The Gambia in a near future.
What was the result of The Gambian High Court-hearing announced to be held
last tuesday ?
I´m waiting to hear that the Government live up to the constitution, to
the human right principles, show respect for the laws and the rulings, and
has allready without hesitation brought the responsible persons (from
NIA/police/ partymembers, they are identified by Mr. Nyassi) to court and
charged (maybe for illegal action against a citizen, inhuman/critical
treatment of a person in their custody, denying facts and swearing false in
court !?). But mostly I expect to hear that the NIA/autorities has given
Nyassi and his family full compensation and a public apology. OR IF the
authorities have anything to charge Mr. Nyassi I´ll expect they do so,
and/or try to defend themselves and their actions.
If not I will say that The Gambian authorities are not better then the
danish police, who some years back took a gambian citizen (tourist) from
the airport to the police-head-quarter in Copenhagen, tortured him and send
him back to The Gambia with his future life totally destroyed.
(According to the airport-police he had not enough money to stay as a
tourist, so they wanted to keep him in their custody untill the next plane
returned to The Gambia. When he was taken to the policestation and put into
a cell he was striken by panic. I think that any danish tourist who arrived
at Yundum and brought to a cell at Mile 1, and only spoken to in a local
language would do the same. The police said he attacked them, so they had
to tie him up, take all his clothes (for his own safety!) and make him
passive! He could not speak english/french, so he could not understand or
explain anything, they said) He was some years later by a court-decision
given a compensation from the danish authorities, but I hear that his life
is ruined from that "meating" with danish authorities.
Will the gambian authorities be like the danish ? I don´t hope you will
treat any citizen or any human being like that.
Even if a person in public criticise the government, the president, the
authorities, even he/she makes mistakes and even a crime or illegal act,
the authorities will have to treat you as a human being and according to
laws, human right principles. In politics there must be freedom to debate
and criticise each other, the opponents, those with another ideology, as
long as you keep strict from slander etc. IF the president find that Nyassi
is guilty of slander he could handle the situation professional, I
think.But maybe it´s some who have handled on their own initiative ?
It will not be nice if the human right center based in The Gambia will have
to deal with cases from The Gambia against the state or the autorities.
Or will this Nyassi-case be the first one for the OMBUDSMAN to handle to
see if the authorities has done this case right ?
I stress that I only have the information given on Gambia-L, and my comment
and indignation is based on the information given. There may be things of
which I´m not informed.
From Asbjørn Nordam
>BANJUL, Gambia (PANA) - The Gambian high court will Tuesday in Banjul
>hold a >hearing to learn the circumstances surrounding the state's denial
>that it had >abducted an opposition leader in late May.
>
>Leader of the youth wing of the opposition United Democratic Party,
>Momodou >Shyngle Nyassi, was abducted from his home in the early hours of
>26 May by >state and ruling party agents led by the country's National
>Intelligence >Agency.
>
>Nyassi was released Monday morning after state denials that he was under
>its >custody.
>
>Speaking at a press conference Monday organised by Gambia's three
>opposition >parties, Nyassi described how a joint night operation by the
>NIA, the police >and members of the July 22 Movement (wing of the ruling
>party) abducted him >last month.
>
>He said the agents broke the door to his house in Erikma (about 30 km
>>from >Banjul) and forcefully took him to NIA headquarters in the
>capital.
>
>He identified four of his aductors as Momodou Pika Jallow, Ibrahima Jallow
>and >Momodou Jarju of the July 22 Movement and Ousman Tamba of the NIA who
>were >assisted by a uniformed policeman.
>
>Nyassi said he was physically assaulted during the abduction before being
>>bundled up in a vehicle to a NIA cell where he was deprived of food or
>water >for two days.
>After a series of interrogations, he said he was told that the reason for
>his >arrest was the remarks he made against president Yahya Jammeh during
>a UDP >meeting.
>After he was removed from the second detention centre, he said he was
>taken >back to the NIA offices where a panel of top NIA officials,
>including Abdoulle >Kujabi, a relative of Jammeh, interrogated him.
>The high court also issued an order for the NIA to release him, but the
>NIA >director swore to an affidavit denying holding him, which is
>expected to be >argued in court Tuesday.
>Published in FOROYAA of 24 - 28 June 1999.
>
>
>PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE OPPOSITION
>
>No To Thuggery
>
>A press conference was convened on Monday, 21 June 1999 by the opposition
>parties - National Reconciliation Party (NRP), United Democratic Part (NRP)
>and the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism
>(PDOIS).
>Being fully convinced that justice has been imperilled, common sense
>dishonoured and good governance derailed by the lack of responsiveness to
>the demands for Shyngle Nyassi's release+ADs-
>
>Being fully conscious that the consequences of silence in the face of
>deliberate negation of the inherent rights and freedom of a person is to
>play into the hands of social mischief+ADs-
>
>We, the undersigned, representing our respective political parties have been
>mandated to denounce the criminal abduction of Shyngle Nyassi in the most
>unequivocal of terms and further call for the immediate intervention of the
>responsible arms of the State to ensure his release from unlawful detention
>and the prosecution of his abductors.
>
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