Gambia: Soldiers sentenced to death in secret trial must not be
executed
Death sentences imposed on soldiers accused of
participating in December’s attempted coup d’état in Gambia are a cruel
violation of the right to life and the right to a fair trial, Amnesty
International said today.
A military court handed down death sentences to three soldiers and
sentences of life
imprisonment to three others following
a trial on Monday 30 March 2015. The trial was held in secret; media and
independent observers were barred from observing the proceedings.
“Gambia’s justice system is deeply flawed and
we have concerns about the fairness of the trial, given that it was held in
secret,” said Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director
for West and Central Africa.
“Amnesty International opposes the death
penalty in all cases without exception. The death penalty is a violation of the
right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Many
countries in West Africa are moving away from the use of death penalty and it
is disappointing that the Gambia has not followed this trend.”
Reports from the country indicate that the
soldiers may have been convicted of treason, conspiracy, mutiny and assisting
the enemy. The last executions in Gambia were carried out in 2012, when nine
prisoners (eight men and one woman) were executed by firing squad.
In September 2012 President Jammeh announced a
“conditional” moratorium on executions, which would be “automatically lifted”
if crime rates increased. In March 2015, during a review
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