Gambia executes 9 death row prisoners, the first in 27 years

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, Headlines Saturday, August 25th, 2012

Yahya Jammeh of Gambia

Amnesty International yesterday said that Gambia had executed nine death row prisoners, after President Yahya Jammeh vowed to carry out all death sentences by mid-September.

“Amnesty International has received credible reports that nine persons were executed last night (Thursday) in Gambia and that more persons are under threat of imminent executions today and in the coming days,” the rights body said in a statement yesterday.

A Gambian security source reported that all 47 death row prisoners had on Thursday night been “transferred to one place” but he and other sources could not confirm the executions.

“The man is determined to execute the prisoners and he will do so,” the security source told AFP, referring to President Jammeh.
The president’s office said in a statement late Friday that the people on death row “have exhausted all their legal rights of appeal as provided by the law” — without, however, confirming the nine executions.

“The law of the Gambia on the death penalty is very clear. In due compliance with the law of the Gambia, all the persons on the death row have been tried by the Gambian courts of competence jurisdictions and therefore convicted to death,” the statement said.
“Also, in accordance with the law, these people have exhausted all their legal rights of appeal as provided by the law.”

In a televised address to mark this year’s Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr on Sunday Jammeh said: “By the middle of next month, all the death sentences would have been carried out to the letter.

“There is no way my government will allow 99% of the population to be held to ransom by criminals.”

Amnesty urged Gambian authorities to “immediately halt any further possible executions”.

According to Amnesty those executed include one woman and two of them are Senegalese citizens.wp_posts