Gambia opposition calls for Imam's release
2013-01-07 11:21
Banjul - The main opposition figure in Gambia, Ousainou
Darboe, has called at a rally attended by hundreds of supporters for the
release of a religious leader who was jailed last month and is known for being
critical of President Yahya Jammeh.
The rally was held on Saturday in Brikama, a few miles south
of Banjul, the capital of the tiny west African country, whose government
rights groups accuse of systematically cracking down on journalists, lawyers
and critics.
Imam Baba Leigh, a Muslim cleric who had criticised Jammeh's
regime for carrying out the executions of nine death row inmates last year, was
detained on 3 December and has been held incommunicado since.
"A country is ruled by laws and not by force. In this
21st century, Gambia is the only country where citizens or religious leaders
are arrested and detained unconstitutionally and nothing is said or done about
it," Darboe said.
"We have seen people disappear in this country, we have
seen people arrested in this country and detained beyond the constitutional
limit, which is a gross violation of their rights. ... This must stop," he
said, quoted by several private radio networks.
One of Baba Leigh's relatives confirmed to AFP on Sunday
that the religious leader had not been seen since his arrest.
Detention
He was driven away by men in plain clothes who introduced
themselves as members of the intelligence agency.
"Since his arrest on 3rd December 2012, we are yet to
set our eyes on Imam Baba Leigh. He remains in detention despite many denials
by the police and the intelligence agency that he is not in their
custody," one of his children said.
Jammeh announced in August last year that all death row
inmates would be executed by mid-September. A week later a first batch of nine
were executed by firing squad.
According to rights groups, close to 40 other prisoners
faced death but no further executions were reported.
Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, rules the country
with an iron fist, brooking no criticism.
The man who claims he can cure Aids and other illnesses is
often pilloried for rights abuses and the muzzling of journalists.
- SAPA
