Let me throw some light on the issue concerning the seizure of my passport by the Gambian Authorities. In September 1994 my passport was siezed and I was not allowed to travel out of the Gambia until May 1998 when the passport was returned to me. Since then, I have just like other citizens used the passport to travel out side the country on serval occasion on various missions. I am presently the leader of the Peoples Progressive Party (P.P.P.) which is an opposition party in The Gambia. Recently, I was in my personal capacity invited by the Commonwealth Secretariat to be part of Zimbabwe Election Observe Team. I joined the team and shortly after my return from Zimbabwe my passport was impounded by immigration officials. They did not give me any reasons for doing so. I have no reason to suspect that they have cause to impound my passport. As you may know I have been charged by the State for assault and the matter is before the Magistrate Court at Kanifing. I am on a court bail and have a legal team representing me. I have no problems with the court, in fact the prosecution has been delaying the proceedings. As I am on a court bail, it is only the court that can revoke the bail or subject me to other conditions that the court deems fit under its jurisdiction. Therefore the Police or Immigration have no right to interfere with me or the court proceedings at this stage. Since my return, there has been three court sittings and everything is moving smoothly. My lawyer has already written to the Director of Immigration protesting the seizure of my passport and demanding that it be returned. From my experience with this Government it is very unlikely that they will act on the terms of that letter. The Constitution of The Gambia has a Bill of Rights Chapter which entrenches the freedom of movement of the individuals. Inherent in every right of movement is the right to hold a passport to ensure freedom of movement either within or outside the country. The seizure of my passport is clearly a violation of my right to personal liberty, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of movement guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia 1997. Even though it is stated on every Gambian passport that the said passport remains the property of The Gambia Government, the distinction between holder and owner is a dim one. My passport cannot legally be impounded just because it is the property of The Gambia Government. It has been held in other jurisdictions that not even a police state can justify the arbitrary seizure of one's passport for no reason other than it being a state property. To impound a passport,it must be in accordance with legal prescriptions recognised by every civilised society, and such legal requirements must meet the minimum standards set by our Constitution. In my case the Government had woefully failed again to apply the law. I declare that I am a victim of the State because of my political beliefs, and the sseizure of my passport has delimited or abrogated my right to hold a passport and to move freely. Omar A Jallow (O.J.) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.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 To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~