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Gambia Truth Commission Ends Probe Without Naming Wrongdoers

Gambia Truth Commission Ends Probe Without Naming Wrongdoers

A Gambian commission concluded an almost three-year investigation of abuses committed during former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh rule, without publishing the names of those accused of wrongdoing. 

The onus to make their names public falls on Jammeh’s successor, Adama Barrow, who is seeking reelection in a Dec. 4 vote after forming a political alliance with Jammeh’s party.

“Within 30 days, the president should submit the report to the National Assembly in Banjul, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” Commission Chairman Lamin J. Sise told reporters at his office in Kotu, 26 kilometers (16 miles) outside the capital, Banjul, on Thursday. 

Gambia Truth Commission Ends Probe Without Naming Wrongdoers

The alliance between Barrow’s new National People’s Party and the Alliance for Patriotic Orientation, which dominated politics for 20 years until Jammeh’s ouster, raised concerns that the former dictator could avoid prosecution. Jammeh, who now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea, said last month he opposed the coalition.

Jammeh seized control of the West African nation in a 1994 coup, leading a regime accused of torture and disappearances. He also forced HIV sufferers to follow his own treatment methods. 

Barrow unseated him in a 2016 vote, campaigning on a pledge to seek justice for victims of atrocities committed under his predecessor’s rule. His election victory was enforced by regional soldiers after Jammeh refused to step down.

“Not addressing these crimes could threaten, in the long term, the stability of our country and society,” Sise said. “The individuals involved in perpetrating the violations and abuses must be held accountable for their crimes.”

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