Dangerous to Dissent: Human Rights Under Threat in Gambia - REPORT

Amnesty International USA

June 1, 2016

     Dangerous to Dissent: Human Rights Under Threat in Gambia,launched two days before ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government meet in Dakar and six months before Gambia’s presidential elections, outlines the brutal repression of opposition demonstrations in April and May 2016. Dozens of peaceful protesters and bystanders were beaten by police and arrested and 51 people, including the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and several members of the executive, are awaiting trial. At least 36 more people remain detained without charge and one man -- Solo Sandeng, the UDP National Organizing Secretary -- died in custody after having been tortured.
     Gambia’s elections are just six months away and yet opposition members are arrested and beaten, journalists are muzzled, and civil society muted,” said Alioune Tine, Amnesty International Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
     “Gambia has a long and brutal history of repression of critical voices, and demonstrators such as Solo Sandeng have paid a high price for peaceful protest.”
     Nogoi Njie, a businesswoman arrested on April 14 and currently detained, describedin an affidavit filed at the High Court how she herself was tortured at the NIA. She explained how she was beaten with hose pipes and batons by men clothed in black hoods and black gloves while water was poured over her.
     Between January 2015 and May 2016, Amnesty International researchers interviewed 127 individuals, including victims and eyewitnesses of human rights violations, relatives of victims, UN and INGO representatives, diplomats, lawyers, human rights defenders, representatives of civil society organizations, journalists, opposition members, academics, former members of security forces and sources from telecommunications companies. Relevant desk research was also undertaken, such as review of media reports, UN and civil society reports, court documents and video footage.

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