This case illustrates one of the worst cases of denial of justice in our country. One cannot overstate the fact that these innocent citizens were kidnapped by a callous regime and incarcerated unlawfully. I receive news that Ousainou Darboe has joined the legal defense team, with encouragement. I hope Darboe et al complement the fine efforts that has been put in this case by young lawyers like Emmanuel Joof and Baa Tambedou. We have to recognize that thanks to the tremendous efforts of those fine gentlemen, this case at least made it to court; albeit the AG chambers was kicking and screaming on their way to court. Joof and Tambedou did a fantastic job forcing the hand of the AG chambers. They helped highlight the injustice that was being visited on their clients and eventually succeeded in earning their clients the 'luxury' to be visited by their families and their lawyers. I respectfully urge Joof and Tambedou to continue the good job they are doing and work with legal luminaries like Darboe and Sillah to win the eventual release of their clients. Keep up the good job. Having said that, I must say that it is pathetic that while these innocent citizens languish in jail, the judiciary and AG chambers is passing the buck to each other. According to reports, Justice Grante conveniently dodged the bullet by saying that he does not have jurisdiction to hear this treason case. Apparently, the government cannot guarantee its citizens one of the most fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution: Right to a speedy trial before a citizen's peers. As I said in other postings, the Constitution allows criminal defendants to opt for trial by jury if they so wish. But thanks to a lame-duck legislature, there is no legislation in the country's books spelling out the mode such a trial should take. As a result, like in the Basse Ambush case, each time a criminal defendant raises this preliminary objection, AG chambers and the courts are lost in a quagmire. But should Dumo et al pay for this government's inefficiency? Is it right for these innocent citizens to remain in jail while those vermin at the AG chambers and the National Assembly drag their feet about the legislation regarding the constitution of juries? Grante should have at least assumed jurisdiction if only to release these innocent citizens while they wait for their trial. If Haddy Roche (a magistrate) can usurp jurisdiction and order the incarceration of these citizens, Grante should be able to step to the plate and rectify the wrong committed by Roche. I remind people that the only reason these people are in jail, is the erroneous ruling Roche gave when Pap Cheyassin Secka ran behind Emmanuel Joof's back and had Haddy Roche issue a ruling jailing these people. The courts have to address that ruling. They can run all they want, but they cannot hide. All we ask is, while they are bickering about jurisdiction, they should release Dumo et al on bail pending their trial. What is happening to these citizens is one of the worst forms of human rights violations and state-sanctioned terrorism. You have government thugs abducting innocent citizens and incarcerating them, incommunicado for months and denying them the basic right to a speedy trial before a jury of their peers. If we allow such injustice to continue, then no Gambian is immune from this criminal behavior. Yaya can order his thugs to abduct any Gambian and throw them in jail and throw the key in the sea. The courts should stop this culture of impotence and apply the law by releasing these innocent citizens. KB _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------