Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has announced he is suspending executions for prisoners on death row, after being criticized for allegedly executing nine convicts last month. Mr. Jammeh announced Saturday that he is responding to numerous appeals asking for a halt to the policy. He said the moratorium will be indefinite if the violent crime rate […]
Gambian President Suspends Executions
Pressure Mounts on Gambia to Stop Executions
Gambia is coming under more pressure to halt all executions, as fears rise the government could kill dozens of prisoners in coming weeks. Rights group Amnesty International says Gambian President Yahya Jammeh must retract a threat to execute all death row inmates in his country, and place an immediate moratorium on further executions. Late Tuesday, […]
UN Urges No More Executions in Gambia
The United Nations is calling on Gambia to spare all additional prisoners on death row, after authorities in the West African country executed nine people. The U.N. special envoy on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, strongly condemned Gambia’s action in a statement Tuesday and called for “a halt to further executions.” Heyns said […]
Gambia Confirms 9 Death Row Executions
Gambian officials Monday said nine death row prisoners have been executed by firing squad, after President Yahya Jammeh said all death sentences would be carried out by mid-September. The interior ministry issued a statement saying nine people, including one woman, were executed on Sunday. The statement also warns the general public that criminal activities which […]
EU Demands Gambia Halt Inmate Executions
The European Union is demanding Gambia immediately halt the execution of death-row inmates, after reports it recently executed several prisoners. Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton warns in a statement the European Union will “urgently” consider an appropriate response to the reported executions. There are conflicting reports about whether Gambia executed inmates last week. Amnesty International […]
Conflicting Accounts of Gambian ‘Executions’
There are now conflicting accounts whether authorities in The Gambia have executed nine prisoners, as reported by Amnesty International. Amnesty said Friday that according to “reliable sources,” nine death-row inmates were taken from their cells the night before and executed. A group called the Civil Society Associations of Gambia says on its website that it […]
More Executions in Gambia Expected
Amnesty International says more executions could take place in Gambia in the coming days, after nine condemned prisoners apparently were put to death late Thursday – the first executions in the tiny West African nation in more than a quarter-century. Authorities in The Gambia have refused to comment on Amnesty International’s report that eight men […]
Amnesty International Says 9 Executed in Gambia
Rights group Amnesty International says nine people have been executed in Gambia, several days after the country’s president said all death row prisoners would be killed. In a statement Friday, Amnesty said that according to “reliable sources,” nine people — including a woman — were removed from their prison cells Thursday night and executed. There […]
Report: Tourism Depleting Crucial Water Supplies for Gambia
A British-based organization says wasteful water consumption at tourist resorts across Gambia is threatening water access and livelihoods of citizens in the small west African nation. Tourism Concern, which promotes ethical standards for global tourism, says resorts along the Gambian coast often dig their own bore holes to obtain water for their guests. Rachel Noble, […]
Gambian Emerges as Frontrunner for ICC Chief Prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda of Gambia has emerged as the leading candidate to become the next chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court. Liechtenstein’s U.N. Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, who heads the selection process, says he will formally recommend Bensouda at a meeting of ICC member nations Thursday. The 50-year-old Bensouda is the deputy to the ICC’s current […]