Gambie : Former minister gets life imprisonment for demanding an end to the dictatorship
6 février 2012 05:57 0 messages
A criminal court in The Gambia on January 17, 2012 convicted Dr. Amadou Scattered Janneh, a former Minister of Information and Communication, of treason and sentenced him to life imprisonment with hard labour.
Three others, Modou Keita and Ebrima Jallow, both Gambians, and a Nigerian citizen, Michael C. Ucheh Thomas, were also handed three-year sentences by the court presided over by Emmanuel Nkea, a Nigerian-born judge.
Prior to the sentencing, Dr. Janneh, a former outspoken critic of President Jammeh and his jailed colleagues, had been remanded following their arrest on June 7, 2011. They were charged with two counts of treasonable offences for distributing materials demanding an end to the authoritarian rule of President Yayha Jammeh.
According to the prosecution, Dr. Janneh and his three jailed colleagues conspired with others including Ndey Tapha Sosseh, former Gambian Press Union (GPU) chairperson "to overthrow the Government of The Gambia by unlawful means".
All the convicted persons belong to a political pressure group, Gambian Coalition for Change, that printed anti-government T-shirts during the election year.
During the trial, the prosecution, which has demanded the death penalty, called on 14 witnesses who brought forward evidence against the accused persons. However, Dr. Janneh and his colleagues declined to open their defence or call witnesses. Instead, their lawyer, Lamin Camara, filed a written address to the court.
MFWA strongly condemns the judicial system in The Gambia for imposing unjust prison sentences on Dr. Janneh and three others who did no wrong by asking Gambians to end the authoritarian regime. We ask the international community to put pressure on the Gambian government to reverse the court’s decision.
For more information :
Media Foundation for West Africa
PO Box LG 730
30 Duade Street, Kokomlemle
Legon, Accra
Ghana
alerts (@) mediafound.org
Phone : +233 302 242470
Fax : +233 302 221084
Dans la même rubrique
8 avril – Gambie : mobilisation contre un texte de loi rétablissant l’excision
1er novembre 2023 – Gambie. Les conséquences dévastatrices de la surpêche sur la population locale
27 avril 2022 – L’un des assassins du correspondant de RSF en Gambie en 2004 devant la justice allemande
13 novembre 2021 – Gambie. Les candidats à l’élection présidentielle mis au défi quant à leur engagement en faveur des droits humains
20 janvier 2021 – Gambie : A Comrade Falls