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Letter From Birmingham: Another Dark Day
Friday, 23 September 2011 22:02
(Column) - September 19 is another dark day in the annals of the Gambian Bar Association. It was the day when the Gambian
judiciary again completely ignored its guiding principle, Fiat Justicia and sentenced Lawyer Moses Richard to a two year jail term for merely exercising his duties.I have known Lawyer Richards for many years as a hard working, and decent man, and his jailing should be a cause for concern to everyone especially his colleagues in the Gambia Bar Association.
Lawyer Richards is locked up among rapists, paedophiles, murderers, drug traffickers, coup plotters and other dangerous criminals not because he threatened the peace and stability of our country. No, he is convicted for merely writing a petition to a public servant as instructed by clients.
Richards’s conviction is a serious threat to the independence of the legal profession and the administration of justice in the Gambia. It is also an assault on the Gambian legal profession and exposes the inability of the Jammeh regime to disassociate lawyers from the causes of their clients.
His arrest, prosecution and conviction is severely detrimental to the effective functioning of the justice system and to the ability of our lawyers to carry out their professional duties freely.
For many years now, the Jammeh regime has been exhibiting hostility and suspicion in its dealings with our lawyers, whom it regards as enemies of the country. The shooting of Lawyer Ousman Sillah by suspected state agents, the persecution and assassination attempt on my friend Mai Ahmed Fatty and several other incidents of harassment and intimidation of lawyers have created a climate of fear in our lawyers. And the conviction of Lawyer Richards will further darken the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among lawyers.
I support the Gambia Bar Association for coming out strongly against, Richards’s conviction which it described as “a violation of all known principles that seek to protect and safeguard the integrity of the profession, as well as uphold the human rights and dignity of the citizen.”However, while I commend the Bar Association for condemning Richards’s conviction, I will encourage them to take a braver approach to the issue. Condemning Richards’s conviction in press releases is not enough and will not change anything as far as the Jammeh regime is concern.
The Bar Association should show a united front and send a clear message to the executive that enough is enough and that it will not sit by and allow promotion seeking foreign judges and magistrates to continue jailing innocent men and women in the country.
As a pressure group, the Bar Association has to show that it is not a toothless bull dog. The association should start boycotting all court sessions in the country until Richards is release from prison. This is because a precedent has already been set and what has affected Richards can now affect anyone of them today, tomorrow or the day after.
Nationhood for Palestinians
This Friday Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will be submitting his bid to the UN for recognition of a Palestinian state. As a sympathiser of the Palestinian people, I fully support Mr Abbas’s move and will call on the Gambia government and other countries around the globe to vote for the resolution.
For many years, the world has put faith in peace negations that never yielded anything while hundreds of innocent people are being killed annually. Israel and its allies have to understand that while they have the military power, they cannot resolve this conflict through military means. And the longer this conflict drags on, the more it is going to claim innocent lives in both countries.
I am disappointed with President Obama’s statement that his administration will veto the move. When he was first elected president, Obama gave us false hope that he was ready to find a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite his best negotiation efforts, nothing positive have been achieved while Israel continues to build illegal settlements on Palestinian lands.
Palestinians need a state of their own and it will be very hypocritical to deny them nationhood.
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