Human Rights Watch
Testimony before a Gambian truth commission linking former president Yahya Jammeh to numerous grave crimes during his 22 years in office should be followed by criminal accountability, Human Rights Watch said today with the release of a video, “Truth and Justice in Gambia.” On May 27, 2021, the Gambia Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) is scheduled to conclude over two years of publicly televised sessions.
Victims and former government officials who testified at the hearings, which began in January 2019, tied Jammeh to the killing and torture of political opponents, the murder of about 59 West African migrants, and “witch hunts” in which hundreds of people were arbitrarily detained, among other crimes. They also alleged that Jammeh raped and sexually assaulted women brought to him and personally ran a sham treatment program that forced HIV-positive Gambians to give up their medicine and put themselves under Jammeh’s personal care.
Gambia: When “legal junglers” defend their role under military rule
3 May 2021 By Mustapha K. Darboe, our correspondent in Banjul
The Yahya Jammeh regime relied on lawyers to draft and enact decrees that got rid of fundamental human rights. Some of them, including the first Minister of Justice under the military junta, were called to testify before Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. They essentially avoided to take personal responsibility.
Share
Republish × You are free to republish this article both online and in print. We ask that you follow some simple rules described on our copyright. Please do not edit the piece, ensure that you attribute the author, their institute, and mention that the article was originally published on Justiceinfo.net