The seven days established by the Criminal Procedure Code as limit for appearance before a court when one is being in custody is being honoured with total disregard in the case of the Koina 26. They have been languishing at Janjangbureh Prison while the Truth Reparations and Reconciliation Commission has as its clarion call, ‘Never Again!’
Every person who is charged with a crime is presumed innocent until he/she has pleaded or is proven guilty. The law restricts any detention without trial to seventy-two hours if one is in police custody. After court appearance there is restriction placed on the person presiding not to remand the person for more than seven day without court appearance.
The Koina 26 have so far been detained for more than two weeks in gross violation of their rights not to have their liberty violated by being detained beyond the statutory time limit. This should warrant the DPP to take over this case to minimize miscarriage of justice.
The answer is very simple,NO AUTHORITY knows how to proceed,Culture,Historical indoctrination probably 100s or maybe even 1000s of years old.Without a free media that exists today in Gambia the fate of those encarcerated MAY not be progressed.
===================================================================================================== June 14, 2019 No we have not received any rebuttal from the police, the courts or the justice ministry. We will be sending reporters to get their views and if Foroyaa is proven to be right, on Monday we will start indicting the human rights defenders in the country for being silent.
It is claimed that human rights defenders could not amplify the voices of victims because the Jammeh administration did not give them space.
What then is responsible for the seeming quietness on matters dealing with the violation of the rights of citizens? The conscience of the nation should not be allowed to go to sleep again, otherwise we will be woken up by a nightmare.
Koina 26 .Still encaracerated !
Posted - 13 Jun 2019 : 17:34:16
