Gambian authorities deport human rights activist

Monday, 17 January 2011 18:54

APA- A human rights defender who was convicted and sentenced on 6th September 2010 by a magistrate’s court for giving false information to the office of the Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, has been deported from the Gambia, APA learns here on Monday.
A source at the Ministry of the Interior in Banjul confirmed the deportation of Edwin Nebolisa Nwakaeme to Nigeria. The source told APA that the authorities in Banjul acted in accordance with the prison rules which state that foreigners that served their prison terms should be deported from the country.
Edwin Nebolisa, a founding member of the African in Democracy and Good Governance, was accused of informing the office of the President that his organization is an NGO, when it is registered as a charitable organization at the Attorney General’s Chamber in 2006. He was arrested by the police on Monday 1st March 2010. He was denied bail by the police and the court.
He was tried and subsequently sentenced to a custodial jail term of six months and a fine of D10, 000 (about US$ 370).
Nebolisa filed an appeal at the Banjul High Court, but the trial judge upheld the decision of the subordinate court and sentenced him to six months, and a fine of D500 (about US $18).