Since his accession to power by coup d’etat on 22 July 1994, President Yayah Jammeh has been accused of ruling the Gambia with an iron fist. After 20 years in office, his record has been tarnished by allegations of serious human rights violations including, restriction of the freedom of expression and opinion, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, executions and disappearance.
On 22 July 2014, to mark the 20th anniversary of President Jammeh’s accession to power, Gambian refugees, along with Senegalese, Gambian and international human rights organisations held a sit-in in front of the Gambian Embassy in Senegal. A Gambian human rights activist said the demonstration “was a success, it highlighted … the mistreatment Gambians are going through…All those who gathered here are in one way mistreated, seriously tortured, wrongfully imprisoned, or escaped an assignation attempt.”
The protesters were calling on the African and international community to take a greater interest in the deteriorating human rights situation in the Gambia. They were calling for the Gambian government to allow the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on torture and summary, extrajudicial and arbitrary executions to conduct the mission they had initially scheduled from 12-18 August 2014, but later unilaterally postponed.
The protesters were calling on the African and international community to take a greater interest in the deteriorating human rights situation in the Gambia. They were calling for the Gambian government to allow the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on torture and summary, extrajudicial and arbitrary executions to conduct the mission they had initially scheduled from 12-18 August 2014, but later unilaterally postponed.
Read the full blog here.
