On Monday December 3, 2012 a prominent Imam by the name of Baba Leigh was picked up from his home and supposedly taken to Mile 2 Prison. Baba Leigh is one of the few moral voices left in that country. Speaking truth to power has become the trademark of his weekly Friday sermons. In fact, he was the only religious leader who condemned the recent execution of nine prisoners, whose trials did not follow due process of the law. Most of us belief he has since once again become a target of the Yaya Jammeh regime that would like to silence him once and for all.
Amie Bensouda we have learned was also picked up. Amie is a renowned lawyer who represented the GamcoTrap Duo ladies. GamcoTrap is a non-profit organization whose aim is to empower women and has been courageously fighting to stop Female Genital Mutilation in the Gambia. The ladies in charge of the organization became targets of the government because of their work. They were subsequently falsely charged with embezzling funds that belonged to a Spanish NGO. Her representing of those ladies we believe is what she is paying for.
Please send a message to the Yaya Jammeh regime today urging them to do the following:
- Release the two Gambians from unlawful custody unconditionally, and with immediate effect.
- Terminate persistent harassment and intimidation of the population with immediate effect.
- Put an immediate end to the rule of fear in the Gambia, observe the rule of law and enforce the rights enshrined in the Constitution
