SHIVERS IN THE GAMBIA

 'We will get to the bottom of this and we will not spare anybody. Enough is enough. They want to destroy our country. We will destroy them.' President Jammeh after the abortive coup.

President Jammeh arriving at the Presidential Palace after the military crashed coup plotters

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday, January 24, 2015

American citizens charged after failed attempt to overthrow Gambian dictator Yahaya Jammeh in a coup are facing trial in the United States.

Jammeh came to power in The Gambia in a coup 20 years ago and has a tight grip on the tiny nation, a slither of land on the Atlantic coast surrounded by Senegal.

Cherno Njie, 57, and Papa Faal, 46, were arrested upon their return to the US from the tiny West African nation following a thwarted late December coup last year.

According to Federal prosecutors, Njie would have replaced President Jammeh as interim leader if the coup had succeeded.

The men, both of Gambian descent, conspired to help overthrow longtime President  Jammeh who himself came to power in a similar coup in 1994 and has been ruling with iron fist ever since.

The men have since appeared in American courts as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder condemned 'such conspiracies'.

'The United States strongly condemns such conspiracies. With these serious charges, the United States is committed to holding them fully responsible for their actions,' Mr. Holder said in the statement.

Both men were in custody and were expected to make court appearances in Baltimore and Minneapolis.

Suspected coup plotters! Faal and Njie

The charges stem from the December 30 2014 coup attempt in the former British colony, which came as the longtime dictator was away in France.

Gambian President Yahaya Jammeh blamed 'terrorist groups' for the coup attempt and alleged that plotters had received backing from foreign countries.

Federal Prosecutors said the two men, Njie and Faal, traveled separately from the United States to Gambia to participate in the unrest there and when unsuccessful, later returned to the US.

Overall, about 10 to 12 people were in Gambia to try to overthrow the government 'with the expectation that others in the country would join and assist them,' the US State Department said.

President Jammeh was at the White House as guest of President Obama

Human rights activists have long criticized the Gambian government for targeting political opponents, journalists and gays and lesbians.

The US government recently removed Gambia from a trade agreement in response to human rights abuses, including a law signed in October that imposes life imprisonment for some homosexual acts.

According to prosecutors, Faal, holds dual citizenship of the US and Gambia and lives in Minnesota.

He reportedly told investigators that in August he joined a movement in the United States bent on overthrowing the government.

He reportedly said he was motivated to be part of the group, which prosecutors said planned to ambush the president's convoy, by concerns that elections were being rigged and over 'the plight of the Gambian people,' according to court papers.

Federal Prosecutors said he purchased semi-automatic rifles in Minnesota that were then shipped by cargo ship to the Gambia and after members of the group were defeated at the Gambian State House, Faal escaped by ferry to neighbouring Senegal, where he walked into the U.S. Embassy, spoke to U.S. officials and gave the FBI permission to search his home in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

President Jammeh grants interview to journalists

Court papers indicated that Njie, 57, is a U.S. citizen of Gambian descent lives in Austin, Texas. He was arrested after flying into Dulles International Airport from Senegal.

Family Arrests

Gunmen attacked the capital, Banjul, in the early hours of December 30, when President Yahya Jammeh was out of the country. Diplomats said at least four attackers were killed. On the run were several others.

Since returning, President Jammeh reportedly has warned he would not spare anyone involved in the attempted coup, which local media said was led by former presidential guard chief Lamin Sanneh.

Sanneh's mother and brother were amongst those arrested so far, family members said, asking not to be named.

Lawyer Ousainou Darboe is a leading opposition leader

Amnesty International

In a related development Amnesty International says Gambian authorities should either charge or release family members of people suspected to be involved in December’s alleged failed coup, and grant them immediate access to lawyers.

 
According to Amnesty International’s information, Gambian law enforcement agencies including the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Presidential guard have arrested at least 30 people, including a 16-year-old boy, since the beginning of January. They are being detained without charge. Security forces have threatened to arrest anyone demanding the release or whereabouts of those arbitrarily detained.
 
“The arrest and prolonged detention of family members of the alleged coup plotters, who have had no opportunity to challenge their detention, violates the basic legal protections provided for by the country’s constitution, as well as regional and international human rights law,” said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for West and Central Africa.
 
“If the Gambian authorities want justice, they should either charge those arrested with recognizable criminal offences, if there are legitimate reasons for doing so, or release them. Keeping so many people detained arbitrarily would be more about instilling fear in the country than pursuing justice.”

Dr. Mai Amad Fatty is  opposition leader

  
Family members of Bai Lowe, a man suspected of having taken part in the attack against the State House, have been in detention without any charge since 1 January. Five NIA officers raided their compound in a village south of Banjul with a list of people to arrest. They arrested Lowe’s 16-year-old son, his ex-wife and his brother. There is still no information about their whereabouts.  According to the Gambian constitution, anyone arrested should be brought before a court within 72 hours.
 
The NIA also arrested Omar Malleh Jagne, the brother of another suspected coup plotter, Njaga Jagne, who was killed by the security forces on 30 December. Omar Malleh Jagne, a father of nine children, was taken to an unknown location and has not been heard of since.
 
Several other family members of suspected coup plotters have fled the country in fear of reprisals. According to Amnesty International’s information, soldiers suspected of being involved in the attempted coup will be tried before a military court soon. They face the death penalty if convicted.   
 
Amnesty International is calling on Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to stop using the alleged coup as excuse for a clampdown on peaceful dissenters.
 
On 14 January, President Jammeh announced that the authorities were willing to work closely with the UN to investigate the events of 30 December.  
 
“This investigation must include the arrests and detentions that took place following the attempted coup. The Gambian authorities should provide unfettered access to detention centres, including those run by the military,” said Steve Cockburn.
 
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Gambia is a state party provides in Article 6 that “every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person. No one may be deprived of his freedom except for reasons and conditions previously laid down by law. In particular, no one may be arbitrarily arrested or detained.”

Opposition Cry Foul 
Meanwhile  Gambian opposition leader Dr. Mai Ahmad Fatty says President Yahya Jammeh’s dictatorship is getting ‘out of hand’ and has urged the international community to pressurize him to bring ‘reforms’ into the tiny West African country.

Lawyer Fatty who stood as Presidential Candidate of Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) in 2011 told journalists in Accra last week that President Jammeh continuous abuse of human rights, constitutional violations, stifling of the opposition and muzzling the media has brought the Gambia on its knees.

President Jammeh in a pensive mood

“If you close the door to official opposition, you open the same door to unofficial opposition and things could explode if the situation persists,” the leader of the GMC said.

Impunity

“The good people of the Gambia are living in a state of fear. President Jammeh and his men have put terror in the people and they are doing things with impunity,” he said.

He said “rule of law is dead in the Gambia. Judges are dismissed at will and people are detained without trial while others are tortured and killed for fighting for freedom. He does not respect international protocols and conventions that ensure a just society.”

Lawyer Fatty said that the Gambia with a population of about 800,000 is in the state of anarchy and said “the peace we enjoy is false peace. We are under the thumb of dictatorship.”

Elections

He said with the current electoral rules, there is no way anybody can unseat Mr. Jammeh, saying “he has abolished the second round voting system and established a first past the post system. The electoral system is fundamentally flawed.”

Banjul is the capital of the Gambia