Senegambia

Barrow’s Government Urged to Drop Charges on Madi Jobarteh

Gambia’s government have been asked to drop all charges slapped on Madi Jobarteh.

An activist, Madi was arrested last month for comments he made over the deaths of Haruna Jatta, Ousman Darboe and Kebba Secka during a Black Lives Matters protest.

The statements did not sit well with police who invited him for questioning then arrested him prior to slapping charges of false information-.

And in the wake of this, Article-19 have issued a statement urging Barrow’s leadership drop the allegations on Jobarteh who is released on bail pending court action.

“These controversial legal provisions were used by the old regime to silence opposition and crackdown on dissident voices.”

“In the new Gambia, human rights defenders and journalists should no longer be arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression and sharing publicly their opinions on a matter of public interest.

“During the examination of The Gambia’s human rights record in 2019, the government confirmed to the United Nations it will protect and fulfill freedom of expression. Now is the time to demonstrate this by bringing all the laws the old regime used to stifle free speech in line with The Gambia’s international human rights obligations.

“The government should also inform citizens what progress it has made in investigating these condemnable deaths and ensure that the suspected perpetrators are brought to justice,” a statement from Fatou Jagne Senghore, Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 West Africa read.

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