2 yıl önce

Gambia commission recommends trial of ex-president Jammeh

Yahya Jammeh seized power in 1994, and for 22 years, he oversaw a regime accused of committing abuses such as state-sanctioned murder, torture and rape in the tiny West African country.

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Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea in 2017 after President Adama Barrow defeated him at the polls.

A Gambian truth and reconciliation commission has said in a report that former president Yahya Jammeh was responsible for a spree of killings, torture and rapes during his 22-year rule over the tiny West African nation.

The commission's report, which follows a sweeping three-year inquiry into the abuses of the Jammeh era based on testimony from hundreds of witnesses, was given to President Adama Barrow earlier this month but was made public on Friday.

The independent Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was set up when Jammeh left Gambia for exile in Equatorial Guinea after refusing to accept defeat in a 2016 election.

In its report, the commission recommended "prosecuting Yahya Jammeh and his co-perpetrators in an Internationalised Tribunal in a country in the West African sub-region."

The commission said that Jammeh, who came to power in a 1994 coup, and his henchmen, including a personal hit squad known as The Junglas, were responsible for 44 specific crimes against journalists, ex-soldiers, political opponents and civilians.

These included the killing of journalist Deyda Hydara in 2004, seven civilians in 2000 and 59 West African migrants in 2005. He was also responsible for the rape or sexual abuse of three women, according to the commission.

Amnesty may be granted to those who during the TRRC inquiry confessed to wrongdoing and expressed remorse. A decision on requests will be made within six weeks.

Neither Jammeh nor his spokesman could be reached for comment.

Political support?

Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea in 2017, after President Adama Barrow, who was then a relative unknown, defeated him at the polls.

The shadow of Jammeh, who seized power in Gambia in 1994 and ruled with an iron fist for 22 years, still hangs over the tiny nation – the smallest in mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal.

The former dictator retains significant political support in Gambia, where his advocates have pushed for his return.

Barrow has been under fire since making an alliance with members of Jammeh’s party. But the government is keen to assure that the case is moving forward.

“The victims don't need to be worried. President Barrow established the TRRC out of his own volition, in order to fight for the truth,” said government spokesperson Ibrima Sankareh.