Friends,
The blame for the "Balangbaa" error should be entirely on me and I apologise
sincerely for any inconvenience. When the petition was distributed here
there was a need to update it especially since the time of detention
mentioned in the petition was far exceeded. Therefore I took the liberty of
adding a covering letter:
Annika Renberg
c/o Boka Loho Organisation
P.O. Box 4153; Bakau; The Gambia
Tel: (220) 371630
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
To
…………………………………………….
…………………………………………….
12 August, 2000
Re: Petition on unconstitutional arrests and detention.
Dear Sir/Madam,
On behalf of the organisers, the ”Balangbaa Group”, I hereby wish to forward
an international petition regarding the arrest and detention of
Mr Modou Sarho and others. Today it is seven weeks, while Mr Sarho and the
others have been held ’incommunicado’ with not even lawyers allowed to see
them or even know where they are kept.
I now appeal to you/your organisation to take note of this petition and help
to convince the government to follow the constitution and laws of The Gambia
by charging Mr Sarho & co or releasing them if they cannot be found guilty
of any criminal offence. While held in custody, they should also be granted
their right to legal counselling and visits.
Looking forward to your kind understanding and intervention in this regard.
Sincerely,

(Annika Renberg)
Co-founder and volunteer of Boka Loho; wife of Mr Sarho

I am awfully sorry, my own understanding was that the petition was initiated
by members of the 'chat-group' of Balangbaa and that others supported the
idea by contributing to the writing and - of course - the signing. Not to
forget the good work done in the distributing of the petition.

For your information: Today I received a letter from 'The Ombudsman'
explaining that since the case has reached the courts they are unable to
intervene or even investigate.

Once again, Sorry for the misunderstanding. Today copies of the petition
will be given to the political parties here - without my covering letter.
Annika

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