Banjul – Civil society organisations in The Gambia have pressed the authorities to prosecute former dictator Yahya Jammeh over alleged abuses during his 22-year rule.
The government has until May 25 to respond to recommendations from a commission that investigated crimes committed by the state under Jammeh from July 1994 to January 2017.
His regime was notorious for crushing dissent through murder, disappearances, torture, rape and castration.
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission found that 240 to 250 people died at the hands of the state during his rule.
“Jammeh and others named by the TRRC should, without fail, be held accountable for their crimes,” civil society organisations said in a white paper seen on Friday by AFP, referring to the 69 other alleged perpetrators mentioned in the TRRC report.
“Decisions on granting of amnesty should not be taken without prior consultation with victims and/or their families,” it added.
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The civil society organisations also said the government should reform the security forces and other institutions to avoid a repeat of the purported abuses.
“The government must demonstrate political will to obtain justice for victims of human rights violations,” it added.
Jammeh fled into exile in January 2017 after a surprise loss at the ballot box to President Adama Barrow.
But the ex-autocrat continues to hold sway over the country’s political life.
Barrow won a second term in office last year after his party announced a pact with the former dictator’s APRC, which many viewed as a ploy to court Jammeh supporters.
And a Jammeh ally was sworn in as parliamentary speaker last month.
An English-speaking enclave of two million people surrounded by Senegal that is continental Africa’s smallest country, The Gambia is among the world’s 20 least developed states, according to the United Nations.
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Source: AFP
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