Hi Yus!
            Yes, the government can withdraw passports. If you look at your passport, something along these lines is stated: that the passport belongs to the Government of The Gambia and may be withdrawn at any time. Some of the reasons for this is to enable the government to recover passports in case false information was given during their acquisition or to curb flight risk. I am not sure whether there are procedures for withdrawing passports or whether these procedures were followed in OJ's case. Even if the government has a right to withdraw a person's passport, there are other issues within our constitution that might have been violated. These include the right of the individual not to be discriminated against due to political or other affiliations, the freedom of expression etc. as guaranteed in the Constitution if the withdrawal is a means of punishing him because of his political beliefs or for something he said. Other issues include the conduct of public officials and whether their actions are in line with directive principles of state policy and code of conduct of public officers, which even though are not legally enforceable, can be used when trying to determine whether there were possible violations of OJ's fundamental rights due to his political affiliations. Hope this helps. Have a good Easter.
                                                                                            Buharry.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Yusupha C. Jow <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 4:07 PM
Subject: Re: FWD:Immigration Seizes OJ's Passport (28/3/02


> Mr. Mboge:
> Thanks for the forward.
> 
> I wonder what basis the Director of Immigration is acting upon when he instructs for the passports of others to be seized?
> 
> In other words, can this be justified from a legal perspective?
> 
> - Yus
> 
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