CONTINUED...........

U.S  Department of State

Gambia, The

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003

The Attorney General oversees the hiring of foreign judges on contract. The
Government reserves the right not to renew a judge's contract. Foreign judges
were generally less susceptible to corruption and executive branch pressure.
Despite these steps, corruption in the legal system persisted.
The judicial system is comprised of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal,
high courts, and eight magistrate courts. Village chiefs presided over local
courts at the village level.
Trials are public, and defendants have the right to an attorney at their own
expense. Defendants are presumed innocent, have the right to confront
witnesses and evidence against them, present witnesses on their own behalf, and appeal
judgment to a higher court.
The judicial system recognizes customary, Shari'a (Islamic law), and general
law. Customary law covers marriage and divorce for non-Muslims, inheritance,
land tenure, tribal and clan leadership, and other traditional and social
relations. Shari'a was observed primarily in Muslim marriage and divorce matters;
it favored men in its provisions. General law, following the British model,
applied to felonies and misdemeanors in urban areas and to the formal business
sector.
Persons have been held for extended periods pending trial (see Section 1.d.).

The trials of two UDP supporters charged with breach of peace in January for
allegedly playing a UDP political rally videocassette on the Bantanto
community television station remained pending at year's end.
At year's end, UDP leader Ousainou Darboe and UDP members Shyngle Nyassi and
Marong remained free on bail awaiting trial for murder in a 2000 case.
There was one known political prisoner, Lieutenant Sana Sabally, a former
vice chairman of the now defunct Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC)
(the military council established after the 1994 coup), who was serving 9
years at Mile 2 Prison in Banjul for conspiring to assassinate the President in
1995. Human rights organizations were not permitted access to him.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution prohibits such abuses; although the Government generally
respected these prohibitions, there were some exceptions. The Government has not
repealed Decree 45, which abrogates constitutional safeguards against
arbitrary search and permits search and seizure of property without due process. This
decree formally remained in effect, pending a judicial finding that it is
unconstitutional. In practice, the Government did not use it. In some instances,
security forces forcibly entered homes to arrest citizens without warrants.
Observers believed the Government monitored citizens engaged in activities
that it deemed objectionable.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press; however, the
Government limited freedom of speech and the press by intimidation and
restrictive legislation. Journalists practiced a degree of self-censorship.
On occasion, security forces detained persons who publicly criticized the
Government or who expressed views in disagreement with the Government. For
example, on January 27, NIA officers arrested and detained Kemesseng Jammeh, a
member of the opposition UDP for 2 days without charge after the Independent
newspaper published a statement he reportedly made at a UDP rally in Talinding,
which inaccurately accused the Government of misappropriating a $200,000 donation
for farmers.
On September 30, the NIA arrested Lamin Waa Juwara, leader of a small
opposition political party, the National Democratic Action Movement after he
allegedly called for citizens to overthrow the Government. Juwara was turned over the
Serious Crimes Division of the Gambian Police, charged with sedition, and
ultimately released on bail.
The Government published one newspaper, The Gambia Daily. The Daily Observer,
although privately owned, tended to favor the Government in its coverage.
There were four other independent newspapers, including one published by an
opposition political party. There was one independent weekly magazine.
The Government generally did not restrict the publication, importation, or
distribution of written material. English, French, and other foreign newspapers
and magazines were available. The ruling APRC and opposition parties freely
distributed leaflets and papers that could be considered "political literature"
during the year.
During the year, one government-owned and four private radio stations
broadcast throughout the country. There were frequent public affairs broadcasts on at
least two independent radio stations. Local stations rebroadcast the British
Broadcasting Corporation, Radio France Internationale, and other foreign news
reports, and all were available via short-wave radio. Both government-owned
and privately owned satellite television were available in many parts of the
country. The Government allowed unrestricted access to satellite television, and
residents who could afford to do so received independent news coverage via
satellite dish.
During most of the year, government-owned television and radio gave very
limited coverage to opposition activities, including statements by opposition
parliamentarians in the National Assembly.
Citizen FM, known in the past for its civic education and political
programming, remained closed at year's end.
During the year, security forces detained journalists. The Government
detained, questioned, and otherwise harassed journalists and editors of newspapers
that published articles it considered inaccurate or sensitive. For example, on
June 30, NIA officers arrested and detained for 3 hours without charge Alhagi
Yorro Jallow, editor of The Independent newspaper, allegedly for publishing an
erroneous report that two persons were killed in a Gambia-Senegal border clash
following a violent football match in June between the two countries.
On September 20, Abdoulie Sey, editor-in-chief of The Independent newspaper,
was detained for 3 days and released without charge after allowing the
publication of an article that criticized President Jammeh.
Decrees 70 and 71 continued to inhibit free reporting. The decrees require
all newspapers to post a $3,000 (100,000 dalasi) bond or cease publication. The
bond was required to ensure payment of any penalties imposed by a court for
the publication of blasphemous or seditious articles or other libel. Independent
newspaper publishers complained that the bond placed a serious financial
burden on them.

Although the nongovernment press practiced a degree of self-censorship, the
press frequently voiced strong, direct criticism of the Government, and
opposition views regularly appeared in the independent press.
In 2002, the National Assembly passed a National Media Commission Act, which
gave a state-appointed committee the right to license and register journalists
(and to impose heavy fines and suspension for failure to do so), force
reporters to reveal confidential sources, issue arrest warrants to journalists, and
formulate a journalistic code of ethics. The Media Commission is chaired by a
senior magistrate, named by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and
includes the Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Information and
Technology, the Director General of Gambia Radio and Television Services, a
journalist appointed by the Government (since the Gambia Press Union (GPU) declined
to participate), and representatives from civil society, namely from the
Women's Bureau, the Gambia Teachers Union, the Supreme Islamic Council, the Gambian
Christian Council, and the Gambia Bar Association. In August, the GPU, the
bar association, and independent media practitioners filed applications in the
Supreme Court to contest the constitutionality of the Media Commission Act. In
September, the Government proposed and the National Assembly adopted several
amendments to the Act to eliminate the most controversial provisions of the
original text. The National Assembly removed the Commission's power to judge
complaints against media practitioners and media organizations and returned this
power to the jurisdiction of the magistrate courts and the High Court. The
Media Commission can receive and investigate complaints but cannot pass judgment.
In December, the Supreme Court met to rule on the Media Commission's
constitutionality; however, a quorum of justices refused to sit, leaving the Media
Commission without legal standing.
The Government allowed unrestricted Internet access and operation.
Convenient, inexpensive Internet access existed at numerous Internet cafes and through
private accounts.
The Government did not restrict academic freedom.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and, unlike in previous
years, the Government generally respected this freedom in practice.
The Constitution provides for freedom of association, and the Government
generally respected this right in practice. The AFPRC's Decree 81 requires
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to register with the National Advisory Council,
which has the authority to deny, suspend, or cancel the right of any NGO to
operate, including that of international NGOs. However, the Government did not
take action against any NGOs during the year.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government
generally respected this right in practice.
On July 22, President Jammah reversed a May Ministry of Education decision to
allow students to wear veils to school. The President decided that each
school administration should determine its own policy.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2003 International Religious Freedom
Report.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and
Repatriation
The Constitution provides for these rights but allows for "reasonable
restrictions," which the Government at times enforced. The Government prohibited
those under investigation for corruption or security matters from leaving the
country.
The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status to persons who
meet the definition in the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. In practice, the Government provided protection
against refoulement and granted refugee status or asylum. The Government
cooperated with the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
other humanitarian organizations. The Government worked with the UNHCR and local
NGOs in processing refugee claims. The country hosted approximately 3,500
Senegalese refugees from the troubled Casamance region, as well as approximately
7,000 additional refugees from Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. During
the year, fewer than 100 Sierra Leonean refugees were repatriated under UNHCR
auspices.
The Government also provides temporary protection to certain individuals who
fall outside of the definition of the 1951 U.N. Convention Related to the
Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their
Government
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in presidential, legislative,
and local elections. The Constitution provides for the democratic elections of
the President and National Assembly every 5 years. The APRC remained the
dominant political party.
In 2001, the National Assembly passed several amendments that reduced the
power of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to control many fundamental
election matters. The National Assembly gained the power to set the
registration requirements for political parties and change constituency boundaries; local
chieftaincies became presidential appointments instead of elected positions;
voter registration requirements were relaxed; and the IEC lost the right to
question voters about their citizenship during the registration process.
International observers described the 2001 presidential electoral process as
generally free and fair, despite some shortcomings. President Jammeh won
approximately 53 percent of the vote. The opposition political parties initially
conceded the elections but then accused the Government of bribing voters and
issuing threats, both explicit and veiled, against individuals and communities
that did not support the incumbent. Observers agreed there probably were some
irregularities in the registration process but on a much smaller scale than the
UDP/PPP/GPP coalition alleged. The post-election period was marred when Jammeh
fired more than 20 village heads and civil servants who had not expressed
public support for him during the campaign or who had been accused of corruption
or incompetence; security forces also arrested and detained many opposition
supporters throughout the country.
The major opposition coalition boycotted the January 2002 National Assembly
elections accusing the IEC of allowing fraudulent voter registrations and
mismanaging both the presidential and national elections. The boycott was
criticized widely as unjustified and as an inappropriate response to the alleged fraud
and left many of the opposition's own candidates unfunded and unsupported
during the elections. The APRC won the majority for the National Assembly. The
Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism won two seats and the
National Reconciliation Party won one seat. The President appointed 4 members of
his own party and 1 former opposition presidential candidate to the 48-member
National Assembly.
In April 2002, local elections were held that were considered generally free,
fair, and transparent; however, the UDP boycotted the local elections, which
allowed the APRC to run unopposed for many seats. There were unsubstantiated
reports of vote buying by the APRC and opposition parties.
Approximately 55 percent of women registered to vote in the 2001 presidential
and the 2002 legislative elections. There were 7 women in the 48-seat
National Assembly; 3 were elected, 4 were appointed by the President. There were 3
women in the 15-member Cabinet, including the Vice President.
There were no statistics available on the percentage of minorities who
compose the legislature or the cabinet. President Jammeh and many members of his
administration were from the previously marginalized minority Jola ethnic group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~