A 13 and 19 Year old Detained for over 41 Days

Detention without trial and unconstitutional arrests of people is common occurrence under the dictatorial regime of president Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia.  However, this situation have worsen since  the alleged assault on the state house of the Gambia by former state guard commander and eight others. Since then there have been mass arrests of parents, wives, brothers, sisters and associates of those said to be behind the attack at the state house. These arrests have not excluded minors as young as 13 years of age.  This is a total violation of the child rights protocols and the countries very own constitution.

 A 13 years old (Yusupha Lowe) and Pa Alieu Lowe, (19 years old) are still held for 41 days at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) detention centre in Banjul, Humra’s investigator can report. 

According to family source the children has spent 41 days under the state custody in Banjul since their arrest by men in plain clothes who claimed to have got their orders from the Office of the President on 1 January 2015 in Lamin around 3pm. The family added that they were not allowed access to take food to them at the NIA.

However, source noted that the reason for their arrest and detention is still unknown.
It could be recalled that Jariatou Lowe was released on Thursday, February 5, 2015, after spending 36 days in detention at NIA.

They have been held for 41 days without release or taken to a court of law; adding that both are students and they are on missing their school lessons.
The young people arrested and detained at NIA are the son, younger brother and ex-wife respectively of Baboucar ‘Bai’ Lowe, former Warrant Officer Class 2 of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), a dissident based in Germany and purportedly involved in the 30 December 2014 attack on State House.