Let the truth be told. 

-Yus


Human rights country document released US report indicts Gambia Gov’t again 


The US State Department has released its annual Country Report on human 
rights practices in The Gambia renewing its criticism of what it called more 
human rights violations by the Jammeh regime despite the return to democracy. 
It also observes that a number of decrees still exist that run contrary to 
the spirit of the constitution, giving sweeping powers to some state 
functionaries to arrest and detain individuals for more than 72 hours without 
the writ of habeas corpus. The State Department document lists a number of 
human rights violations, which it asserts were left unchecked and unresolved 
in 2000, leading to a hostile political environment that denied democratic 
freedoms to individuals deemed as opponents of the regime. The report says 
the country’s human rights situation, which was “generally poor and 
serious”, remains a damning indictment of a government claiming a restoration 
of democracy and the rule of law under President Yahya Jammeh. According to 
the report members of the security forces committed serious human rights 
abuses, which in most cases are not prosecuted or their perpetrators 
punished. The report lists a number of unexplained deaths and the failures of 
the government to pursue investigations into them. This included the shooting 
at a checkpoint in Omorto of Faburama Manneh and Bakary Ceesay by soldiers, 
suspecting drug trafficking. It also includes the killing of Hussein Wasni a 
Lebanese visitor on 30th October along the Kombo coastal high way after he 
allegedly failed to stop at an army checkpoint and Ousman Ceesay a United 
Democratic Party supporter who died from a shot at Tallinding following 
clashes between supporters of the ruling party and those of the main 
opposition on the last day of the presidential campaign. The US report 
further adds that, security forces continue to torture and carry out other 
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on civilians and security 
detainees especially at the Denton Bridge. It adds that several opposition 
supporters claimed that they were tortured whiles they were detained by 
security officers The report also indicates the beating of John Senesi a 
Sierra Leonean teacher along Kairaba Avenue by soldiers on February 16th, the 
beating of Brian Secka of Sukuta by a police officer named Bojang on April 
14th, the beating of Pa Moo Sallah, Ousman Sowe, and Sang Gaswell (athletes 
of KMC) in Basse by Paramilitary officers in Basse after a volley ball match 
during the NAYCONF among others, The report further detailed that since the 
return of the country to civilian rule, the government of The Gambia has not 
formally revoked military decrees enacted prior to the enactment of the 1997 
constitution that gives the NIA and the Secretary of State for the Interior 
broad powers to detain individuals indefinitely without charge “in the 
interest of national security”. These decrees the report says, seem to be 
inconsistent with the constitution but have not been subjected to judicial 
challenge. The report observes that although the government has stated that 
it no longer enforce these decrees, in some instances it disregards 
constitutional requirements that stipulate that detainees be brought before a 
court within 72 hours. The report also claims that detainees were often 
released after the 72 hours and instructed to report to the police stations 
or NIA headquarters periodically until the case proceeds to the courts. On 
prison conditions, the report states that the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC) who visited the prisons found improving conditions, but also 
noted that the psychological conditions at the Mile Two, Jeshwang and 
Janjanbureh prisons were “hard” in that maximum security prisoners were 
confined to small, individual cells for 21 hours a day and were allowed few 
family visits. It also points out that there were credible reports of 
beatings and malnourishment of detainees. Local jails it adds continued to 
experience overcrowding, with inmates including detainees awaiting charges or 
those charged awaiting trial, occasionally sleeping on the floor, provided 
with mats or blankets. It catalogues that the police are reluctant to 
terminate fistfights between prisoners until the dispute is settled 
violently, and many of the prisoners are injured. Harassment of journalists 
The report states that journalists were harassed by security forces and the 
police some such incidents being the harassment of Salieu Mbowe a freelance 
journalist by police officers at his home in Latrikunda on February 28, the 
beating of Alieu Badara Mansaray by officers of the Bundung Police station on 
May 27, the sacking of Peter Gomez a broadcaster at GRTS on January 5, the 
arrest of Modou Thomas, Bakary Manneh and Namory Trawally who were covering 
the NAYCONF in Basse on June 11, the arrest of George Christensen of Radio 1 
FM and Baboucarr Gaye on October 23 and 29 on the pretext of financial 
irregularities regarding the operation of their stations, and the closure of 
Citizen FM.The report would be serialized in our subsequent editions. 


    
    

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