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Gambia: Stop the rule of fear
Thursday, 22 July 2010 09:47
Take action!DISAPPEARED: EBRIMA MANNEH
Ebrima Manneh has been a victim of enforced disappearance since July 2006. On 11 July 2006 witnesses saw Ebrima, a reporter at the government-owned Daily Observer, being arrested by members
of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) at the newspaper’s offices. It is believed that he was arrested for trying to print a BBC article that criticized the Gambian government. The government denied any involvement in his arrest and subsequent disappearance. However, in July 2007, he was seen in hospital in the custody of Gambian police. On 19 June 2007 the Media Foundation for West Africa filed an application on behalf of Ebrima at the ECOWAS Community Court. The court ordered the Gambian government to immediately release Ebrima from unlawful detention without further delay and pay US$100,000 in damages. To date the government has not complied with the order and has denied holding him in custody. Amnesty International reiterated this to the Gambian government at the UN
Universal Period Review Session in February 2010. Amnesty International suggested that the government call for an independent investigation of the case. However, no action has been taken by the government to date.
IMPRISONED: FEMI PETERSFemi Peters is a member and campaign manager for the opposition party, the United Democratic Party (UDP). In April 2010, he was sentenced to one year imprisonment and fined D10,000 (USD$342), for organizing a political rally without a permit. Femi Peters was first arrested in October 2009 for holding a political rally and using a public address system without permission.
Femi claimed that the right to hold a political rally is a constitutional right, and that his request for permission was rejected by the police. According to Femi‘s lawyer, his client was found guilty of violating a colonial law (public order act of 1961 as amended by 2009). The lawyer has appealed the judgment and the appeal is still ongoing. He has been incarcerated in Mile 2 prison in Banjul. Amnesty International considers the conviction of Femi Peters stems solely from his role as a political opponent.
TAKE ACTION!
1. Join the campaign online at: www.amnesty.org/en/stop-rule-fear-gambia and http://www.amnestyusa.org/gambia.
2. WRITE TO GAMBIAN PRESIDENT YAHYA JAMMEH AND REQUEST HIM TO:
Stop human rights violations and comply with obligations under the African Charter with regard to the right to liberty, freedom from torture, right to fair trial, freedom of expression and association;
Allow doctors, lawyers and relatives of detainees access to prisons and other places of detention;
End incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances, and ensure that security personnel who engage in these practices are brought to justice in fair trials;
End the harassment of journalists and media organisations.
3. SEND YOUR APPEALS TO:
a) Amnesty International office in your country, or:
b) Gambian Press Union
c) National Union of Journalists
MODEL LETTER:
Your Excellency,
I am writing to express my concern about the human rights situation in the Gambia, specifically on the continuing detention of human rights defenders Chief Ebrima Manneh, Edwin Nabolisa Nwakaema and Femi Peters. I wish to urge you to urgently resolve these and other similar cases.
Amnesty international believes that Ebrima Manneh, Edwin Nabolisa Nwakaema and Femi Peters are prisoners of conscience and that they should be released immediately and unconditionally.
We thus urge you to:
Immediately and unconditionally release Chief Ebrima Manneh, Edwin Nabolisa Nwakaema and Femi Peters who are prisoners of conscience detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their freedom of expression;
Implement the ECOWAS Court judgement which ordered the government to release and pay damages to Chief Ebrima Manneh, following his enforced disappearance;
Stop human rights violations and publicly acknowledge the important role played by human rights defenders;
Comply fully with the Constitution of The Gambia and the country’s international obligations under the African Charter relating to the right to liberty, right to a fair trial, freedom from torture, freedom of expression and association;
End incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances, and ensure that security personnel who engage in these practices are brought to justice in fair trials;
Allow doctors, lawyers and relatives of detainees access to prisons and other places of detention;
Establish an independent and international commission of inquiry to investigate the whereabouts and fate of victims of enforced disappearance and ensure that those responsible for these human rights violations are brought to justice in fair trials;
Establish an adequately resourced independent human rights commission.
Yours sincerely,
Name:
Country:
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Comments
Sometimes some people must sacrifice for others to enjoy liberty.
Freedom forever
Eeven though I will disagree withthat, I must commend you, despite your clear lack of sense,by the way you address things here, for your tacit acknowlegement of Jammeh's problmes.
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