Over 72 hours detention without court Appearance is Unlawful

As more family members of those who are suspected  of perpetrating  the insurgency of   30th December 2015 are put under arrest  we must remind the authorities of their constitutional responsibility  to either declare a state of emergency or abide by section 19 of the constitution which establishes a 72 hour limit to  detention before court appearance .
The standards established for detainees  during a state of emergency are as follows:
According to section 36 of the Constitution, where a person is detained under a state of emergency.-
“(a) he or she shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than twenty four hours after the commencement of the detention, be furnished with a statement in writing specifying in detail the grounds upon which he or she is detained; and the statement shall be read, and, if necessary, interpreted, to the person who is detained in a language which he or she understands
(b) the spouse, parent, child or other available next-of-kin of the person detained shall be informed by the authority effecting the detention and shall be permitted access to the person concerned at the earliest practicable opportunity, and in any case not later than twenty-four hours after the commencement of the detention;
(c) where none of the persons mentioned in paragraph (b) can be traced or none of them is willing and able to see the person detained, the person who is detained shall be informed of this fact within twenty-four hours of the commencement of the detention and he or she shall be informed of his or her right to name and give particulars of some other person who shall have the same right of access to the person who is detained as any of the persons mentioned in paragraph (b);
(d) not more than fourteen days after the commencement of his or her detention, theauthority which effected the same shall give notice in the Gazette stating that he or she has been detained and giving particulars of the provision of law under which the detention is authorised;
(e) not more than thirty days after the commencement of his or her detention, and after that at intervals of not more than ninety days during the continuance of his or her detention, the case of the person concerned shall be reviewed by a tribunal as provided in subsection (2);
(f) the person who is detained shall be afforded every possible facility to consult a legal practitioner of his or her choice who shall be permitted to make representation to the tribunal appointed to review the case;
(g) at the hearing before the tribunal appointed for review of his or her case, the persondetained shall be entitled to appear in person or by a legal practitioner of his or her choice and at his or her own expense.

(2) A tribunal appointed to review the cases of persons who have been detained shall be composed of three persons being, or qualified to be appointed as, judges of the High Court
(3) A tribunal composed of the same members shall not review more than once the case of a particular person who has been detained
(4) On a review by a tribunal of the case of a person who has been detained, the tribunal may order the release of the person or it may uphold the detention; and the authority by which the detention was ordered shall act in accordance with the decision of the tribunal for the release of any person.
(5) No person may be detained under or by virtue of an Act of the National Assemblyreferred to in section 35 during any state of emergency in excess of a total of one hundred and eighty-two days (whether such days are consecutive or not) and, on the expiry of that period, any person who has been so detained shall be entitled to invoke the provisions of section 19 (right to person liberty).
(6) In every month during the period in which a state of public emergency is in force and in which there is a sitting of the National Assembly, a Secretary of state authorised by the president shall make a report to the National Assembly of the number of persons detainedby virtue of or under an Act of the National Assembly to which section 35 refers and the number of cases in which the authority which ordered the detention has acted in accordance with the decisions of the tribunal as provided in subsection (4).
(7) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that where the declaration of a state of public emergency is revoked or otherwise ceases to be in force, any person who is in detention or in custody by virtue of or under an Act of the National Assembly to which section 35 refers, other than a person sentenced to imprisonment by a court for an offence against such a law for a term which has not then expired, shall be released immediately without further order.
In the absence of a state of emergency the standards should be more humane.

Source:www.foroyaa.gm

Papa Faal Denied Release

By DAVID CHANEN, STAR TRIBUNE

A handful of protesters who support Papa Faal gathered outside of the courthouse.

A Brooklyn Center U.S. Air Force veteran accused of participating in a coup to overthrow the president of Gambia was denied release Thursday during an appearance in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

Papa Faal, 46, is accused of conspiring to violate the Neutrality Act by making a military expedition against a friendly nation. He is one of two Americans charged in connection with their roles in the plot.

Faal, who left the West African nation 23 years ago, has described the failed Dec. 30 coup as an attempt to restore democracy there. He said he joined the movement because he was disenchanted by the way Gambia’s president, Yahya Jammeh, “was rigging elections.”

Faal is accused of shipping a handful of guns to Gambia, hidden among clothing and other goods in four 50-gallon drums. He then went there himself, financed by the coup’s interim leader, a businessman whose code name was “Dave.”

But on Dec. 30, the expected revolt became a fiasco. Only a dozen or so soldiers stormed the government State House in the capital, Banjul. Faal had expected the Gambian army to flee or join the rebellion, but instead they opened fire, killing several rebels.

Faal fled first to nearby Senegal, then back to the United States, where he was arrested at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.

A second man, Cherno Njie, 57, of Texas, identified as “Dave,” also is in custody and made an appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore earlier this week. Njie’s case will be transferred to Minnesota, the U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis said.

U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said earlier this week that prosecutors and FBI agents worked nonstop over a holiday weekend “to uncover evidence of the plot to overthrow the Gambian government.”

Faal supporters say he was “a freedom fighter” of “good moral character” engaged in “self-defense” against an oppressive government led by Jammeh. About 10 of them protested outside court on Thursday.

Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 when he was a young army lieutenant. There have been at least four military attempts to oust him.

Attorney Anders Folk, a former assistant U.S. attorney, on Monday called Gambia “a repressive government” but said the purpose of prosecuting the two men is “to prevent people from conducting freelance foreign policy missions against foreign governments with whom the United States has relationships. … The United States government doesn’t want people to take matters into their own hands.”

Former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger also supported the prosecutions.

“We are at peace with Gambia,” he said. “And if we are at peace with them, it is a violation of federal law to conspire from the United States by preparing for or financing or initiating a coup or, as the statute says, an expedition.”

Both Folk and Heffelfinger said the charges could bring up to a life sentence.

Courtesy of Star Tribune 

Gambia Comes “Clean” On Foiled Coup

Image of Suspects Provided Courtesy of Standard Newspaper

The Gambia government has finally come clean on last week’s attack on State House. In a statement, the Jammeh government avoided calling the attackers action a coup.

Read below the statement in full:

“On Tuesday, 30th December, 2014, at 2am GMT, the State House was attacked by a well-equipped, well-funded group of Gambian terrorists living in the USA, UK, Germany and Senegal with support from their collaborators abroad with sophisticated automatic machine guns and assault rifles. Five of these attackers launched their assault from the main gate of the State House by the Albert Market while three others attempted to enter through the rear gate by Marina Parade. The leader of the attackers was Lamin Sanneh (codename ‘Gibia’), a former Lieutenant Colonel of the Gambia Armed Forces and former Commander of the State Guards Battalion who was dismissed from the GAF and fled to Senegal and then to the US. He was accompanied by Njaga Jagne (codename ‘Bandit’), a retired captain of the US Army; Baboucarr Lowe, a former warrant officer class 2 of the Gambia Armed Forces referred to as ‘Bai Lo’ who was wanted in connection with drugs and fled to Senegal and then to Germany; former private Modou Njie (codename ‘Mike’) of the Gambia Armed Forces and private Landing Sonko (codename ‘Young’), an active member of the Gambia Armed Forces who was on study leave, was a former orderly of Ex-Lt Col Sanneh”.

“During the exchange of fire at the main gate, Sanneh and Jagne were killed. Lowe and Sonko escaped while Modou Njie was captured and is currently helping the intelligence and security services in their investigations. Glass windows and buildings pockmarked by bullets can be vividly seen by the gate. The attackers from the rear gate included Musa Sarr, Ex-Lance Corporal of the Gambia Armed Forces (codename ‘Kampama’); retired US Army Sergeant Papa Faal and Alhagie Nyass, a former personnel of the defunct Gambia National Gendarmerie and one Dawda Bojang. Faal positioned a heavy machine gun by the entrance of the Accidents & Emergency Unit of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital and repeatedly fired rounds at the gate.

Nyass who attempted to ram his vehicle into the gate was shot dead. Dawda Bojang who was dressed in military uniform and body armour and positioned by a heavy machine gun was also killed. Musa Sarr and Papa Faal fled leaving behind their equipment and military attires. Other members of the group were stationed at Brufut Heights, some 25 kilometres from Banjul, the capital city. They were:

· Cherno M Njie (codename ‘John’), the main sponsor of the attackers and proposed Interim Leader. He fled the country after the attack failed.

· Alhagie Saidy Barrow (codename ‘X’) was the coordinator of the group, responsible for logistics and clearing of their weapons and other gadgets from the seaport.

· Dawda Bojang, Ex-Private of Gambia Armed Forces who deserted in 2014

· Mustapha Faal is a Gambian resident in Germany. He deserted the group before the attack. His whereabouts are not known.

According to documents retrieved from the attackers, this group was to arrest and kill Service Chiefs and other individuals. The team was awaiting the taking over of the State House by the attackers and for the proposed leader, Cherno M. Njie to take over the reins of power. All the four escaped and Cherno M Njie and Papa Faal are facing legal charges in the United States.

After the confrontation and the defeat of the attackers by the security forces, a large quantity of arms was retrieved which included:

· Two (2) Heavy Machine Guns with telescopic sights

· Seventeen (17) M&P 15 individual assault rifles with aiming devices

· Nine (9) AKM automatic Assault Rifles

· Four (4) Light Machine Guns

· Three (3) pistols

· One (1) Night Vision Goggle, (although FBI reports that the group had two)

· Eleven sat Pro Communication devices. Theses gadgets were intended to be used for communication among themselves and to communicate to the outside world when they have destroyed the communication infrastructure in the country after failing to capture the State House.

· Seventeen (17) body armour

· Twenty (20) webbing jackets

· Five (5) camel bags.

It is clear from the documents retrieved from the attackers that this operation was well-planned. The documents revealed their intention to destroy key infrastructure including the Central Bank of the Gambia building, Denton Bridge, Gamtel House and Kotu Power Station among other national assets.

It was also discovered that the codename the attackers used to refer to the President of the Republic of The Gambia was “CHUCK”. This is the same code name that the US Secret Services used to refer to His Excellency, the President during the last US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC.

While we continue to assess the situation and developments, the Government of The Gambia under the leadership of His Excellency, the President, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh assures all citizens, residents and all true friends of The Gambia near and far, that the security and stability of the Republic of The Gambia will never be compromised.

The Gambia will continue to depend only on Allah, the Almighty for the peace, security and prosperity of our proud and dignified people.

The Government of The Gambia thanks all those countries that have expressed their genuine goodwill and solidarity with The Gambia in the wake of this terrorist attack.”

Ends

Sheriff Joins Jammeh’s Cabinet

President Yahya Jammeh has appointed a prominent Gambian media chief as the country’s Minister of Information, Communication and Technology, Kairo News was tipped.

Sheriff Bojang snr. replaces Nana Grey-Johnson who was fired from the post in November 2013.

No reasons were advanced for the removal of Nana, a seasoned journalist who joined cabinet on March 12th, 2013.

Nana Grey-Johnson, a seasoned journalist, joined cabinet on 12th March 2013. He was also Secretary General No. 2, a post added to his portfolio on 10th June 2013.

Sheriff Bojang snr.,whose appointment takes with immediate effect, owned and edited The Standard newspaper. Mr. Bojang had earlier served as the Editor of Hansard at the National Assembly in mid-2000.

Sheriff Bojang, a university graduate, is well known for his many essays. He started his journalism career at the Daily Observer under the tutelage of Kenneth Best, the company’s founding father who later sold it out to Amadou Samba. Bojang, the author of ‘The Mighty Sanna [Sanna Sabally, former Vice President of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council] Had Fallen’ in January 1995, hailed from Brikama town.

In another development, the cabinet reshuffle saw the appointment of Nenneh Mcduall-Gaye and Balla Garba Jahumpa as Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Works, respectively.

Ends

U.S Federal Prosecutors Explain Charges

‘In the Case of Cherno Njie and Papa Faal versus U.S federal Prosecutors. Papa Faal admits involvement in coup plot, admits shipment of weapons and being in the Gambia or surroundings. Cherno Njie did not also dispute charges as yet. How did the U.S prosecutors got access to the information leading to the charges? Was the information supplied by the Jammeh administration from the supposed laptop seized from insurgents.’

Washington — Federal prosecutors have charged two U.S. men in connection with a violent failed coup attempt against the government of Gambia last month in an alleged conspiracy that included an undisclosed number of other Americans.

Cherno Njie, 57, a U.S. citizen of Gambian descent living in Texas, and Papa Faal, 46, a citizen of both the U.S. and Gambia living in Minnesota, were named in a unusual criminal complaint made public Monday that outlined a months-long conspiracy in which firearms, including semi-automatic rifles, were allegedly shipped to the West African nation for use in the failed overthrow.

Several of the assailants died in the Dec. 30 failed assault on the residence of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. It was not immediately clear how many were killed and whether the dead included other Americans.

In a video posted on the Gambian government’s website, Jammeh said the assault was carried out by “dissidents” based in Germany, the U.S. and Great Britain.

Jammeh was photographed next to a flatbed truck that displayed an array of firearms reportedly seized in the attack.

“I live for the Gambia,” Jammeh said. “I die for the Gambia.”

Njie, an Austin businessman, is described in federal court documents as the financier and leader of the alleged conspiracy who was expected to serve as the “interim leader” of the government had the coup succeeded.

Faal, of Brooklyn Center, Minn., reportedly told federal investigators following his arrest that he had served in both the U.S. Air Force and Army, before his Army discharge in 2012. He joined the coup attempt, according to court documents, because he had become “disenchanted by the way the president was rigging elections and because of his concerns with the plight of the Gambian people.”

Both suspects are charged with conspiring to violate the Neutrality Act for their alleged actions against a friendly nation and conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence. The two made brief, separate court appearances Monday. Njie did not challenge his detention in a Baltimore federal court. He will be moved to Minneapolis where the case will be prosecuted, federal officials said. A similar hearing was held for Faal in Minneapolis.

“These defendants stand accused of conspiring to carry out the violent overthrow of a foreign government, in violation of U.S. law,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “The United States strongly condemns such conspiracies. With these serious charges, the United States is committed to holding them fully responsible for their actions.”

Up to a dozen members of the conspiracy, according to court documents, entered Gambia earlier this year, expecting that others, including a battalion of sympathetic Gambian soldiers, would join their side. Before their departures, which occurred between August and October, Faal and other conspirators allegedly purchased the firearms and shipped them to Gambia. The group also acquired night-vision goggles, body armor, ammunition, black military-style uniform pants, boots and other equipment.

An estimated 30 firearms were shipped to Gambia, some of them hidden in 50-gallon barrels containing clothing, the court documents stated.

“Faal admitted he knew shipping the guns was illegal, but was more concerned with carrying out the coup,” the documents stated.

On Dec. 30, according to the complaint, Faal and other conspirators allegedly gathered in the woods near the home of the Gambian president in Banjul where they split into two teams.

At that time, prosecutors allege that Njie was waiting at a secure location until the teams took control of the home. The teams, however, were allegedly routed by heavy fire from guard towers when they approached, resulting in the deaths of several conspirators.

Faal and Njie fled, returning to the U.S., where they were arrested.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/05/coup-gambia-americans/21283229/

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Papa Faal And Cherno Njie Charged With Attempted Coup

Two men have been charged in the US with attempting to overthrow The Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh, the justice department has said.

The men, who are of Gambian origin, will appear in court on accusations of conspiring against a friendly nation and conspiring to possess firearms, it added.

Gambian authorities said they had thwarted an invasion on 30 December.

Mr Jammeh seized power in the tiny West African nation in 1994.

He is accused of not tolerating any opposition.

Mr Jammeh was abroad when heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential palace in the capital, Banjul, on 30 December.

He later returned home and accused dissidents based in the US, UK and Germany of being behind the attack.

US-Gambian dual national Papa Faal, 46, and US resident Cherno Njie, 46, were arrested in the US after they returned from The Gambia, where they had helped launch the attack against the government, the justice department said in a statement, AFP news agency reports.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30686627

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PDOIS ON ARMED THE INSURRECTION

ISSUED BY

HALIFA SALLAH

ON BEHALF OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE       

4TH January 2015

NEITHER THE BALLOT NOR THE BULLET CHANGED THE FIRST REPUBLIC FOR 30 YEARS
NEITHER THE BALLOT NOR THE BULLET HAS CHANGED THE SECOND REPUBLIC FOR 20 YEARS
HOW TO PREVENT HISTORY FROM REPEATING ITSELF?

On 30th December 2014 the people within the vicinity of Banjul woke up to the sound of firing of weapons during the early hours of the morning. The PDOIS leadership, through information passed on to Foroyaa while the firing was taking place, was alerted to the prevailing developments. It was not clear who the insurgents were.
During the early hours of the morning it became clear from the soldiers who were in control of Independence drive and who were asking the residents to stay indoors that the loyalist forces were in control of the state house and the City. This was not evident to many people in the country. Hence the rumours spread that a coup had taken place and that the state house has been taken over by the coup makers.
In the morning, Banjul was sealed by the loyalist forces. One could not get in or move out of Banjul.
We expected to hear a comment from the Vice President over the National media but none came. Since the President travels without proclaiming in the Gazette the appointment of an Acting President we monitored the international media to find out where he was and what he had to say. No direct statement came from the executive in those decisive hours.
In the same vein, no organised insurgency takes place without a spokesperson issuing a statement regarding the objective of their mission during the time of combat. We monitored the airwaves but received no information from the insurgents regarding their mission.
The public was completely kept in the dark, both by the state and the insurgents. They did not know what and what not to believe.
Banks and other businesses were closed in Banjul and KMC even though no state of emergency was declared.  All business and social activity in the city came to a halt. Rumours grew wings in the countryside and abroad.
To satisfy ourselves regarding the military and security situation we monitored all security and military activities throughout the country and came to the conclusion that there was no state of alert anywhere else other than Banjul and to a small extent, Farafenni.
News began to come out in drips on the nature of the insurgency and the profile of the Combatants .The name of Lt. Col. Lamin Sanneh, a former state guard Commander, featured prominently as the leader of the insurgents.  Four people were reported to have been killed and one injured. It was also rumoured that they were mainly ex military men who were resident in the US and the UK.
As people and transports began to move freely in places other than Banjul it was apparent that the insurgency was history and what was necessary was to know the details and the implications for the executive, in particular and the people at large.
To be continued