Amnesty International Fears Of More Executions in Gambia
Wednesday, 30 October 2013: Amnesty International has expressed fears that the Gambian regime of Yahya Jammeh may resume the execution of death row prisoners currently languishing at the country’s notorious Mile Two Prisons.
In August 2012, President Yahya Jammeh ordered the execution of nine death row prisoners –seven Gambians and two Senegalese. The executions, which were the first in nearly three decades, were carried out in secret and without prior information to the prisoners, their families and lawyers, or the Senegalese government. Over a year later, the remains of those executed have not been returned to their families for burial, nor has the location of their graves been disclosed, in violation of international standards.
In an oral statement to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) on the state of the death penalty in Africa, Amnesty International said although the Gambia has since established a “conditional” moratorium on the death penalty, it is concerned that more executions in the West African nation may follow.
It added: “ In the Gambia, the government has established a “conditional” moratorium which would be “automatically lifted” if crime rates increase, leaving the remaining death row inmates to live in fear of further arbitrary executions as they happened in August 2012.”
The rights organisation said regional civil society organisations have filed suits at the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against the execution of prisoners in the Gambia.
It added that very often governments in the world present high crime rates or particularly heinous crimes to the general public as a reason to retain capital punishment as a crime control measure – or even to carry out executions.
It stated that while it acknowledges fully the suffering of family members of victims of murder, and recognises the obligation and duty for governments to protect the rights of victims of crime, it believes that those found responsible, after a fair judicial process, should be punished, without recourse to the death penalty.
“Governments too often invoke the death penalty as a “quick-fix” to crime but fail to invest in effective measures to address the issue of public security and crime” Amnesty International stated.
“People want to be protected from crime; but the death penalty does not make societies safer. Instead of focussing on this ultimate cruel and inhuman punishment, governments should direct their attention towards devising comprehensive crime prevention programmes to tackle root causes of crime, more effective policing, and a fair, functioning criminal justice system. Weaknesses to be addressed in the justice systems in many countries include an inadequate quality of criminal investigations and limited legal representation.
“Stopping executions and abolishing the death penalty does not mean that criminals go unpunished. But it is essential that human rights standards, including those related to fair trials, are respected in all stages of the criminal justice process, and that all punishments are compatible with human rights.”
The rights organisation called on the African Commission to call on all member states of the African Charter that still maintain the death penalty, pending full abolition to put in place a permanent, binding and unconditional moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, in line with resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the African Commission.
It also called on the African Commission to ensure that prisoners under sentence of death, their families and their legal representatives are provided, in advance, with adequate information about a pending execution, including date, time and location; to return the body of a person executed, and any personal effects, to the family for burial, without payment by the family, or inform them where the body is buried and allow them reasonable access to that location; to remove from their laws any death penalty provisions that are in breach of international human rights law, such as its mandatory imposition or for crimes which do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes”.
Amnesty International further called on the commission to ensure that trials for crimes carrying the death penalty comply with the most rigorous internationally recognised standards for fair trial and to ensure that the criminal justice system is sufficiently resourced and capable of investigating crimes effectively and supporting victims.
Courtesy: Jollofnews
