Three Years Jotna officials who were arrested and charged over a protest last year have vowed they are prepared to settle for Mile 2, accusing the police of trying to abuse the ‘system’ against them.
Nine top officials of the advocacy group were arrested and charged with various crimes after violent protests against President Barrow’s rule in January last year.
The officials appeared in court on Wednesday where the state said it wanted to withdraw the case. The officials were then allegedly re-arrested and detained at police headquarters.
Speaking from an office at the police headquarters, Yankuba Darboe one of the officials said: “This should never be condoned by anybody. I call on the bar association, I call on every conscious Gambian to stand up against this brute barbarity. This is nonsense. It’s an abuse of our judicial process.
“We have no confidence in going to any other court with these people and the charges that they brought against us because we know they will abuse the process. What they will do is bring those charges, as soon as they know they’re about to lose, they will withdraw it and be charged again. How is anybody gonna get justice in that kind of system. If that is the system, we’re happy to be in Mile 2 and we will remain in Mile 2 until this government goes.”
Abdou Njie the chairman of the group said: “They never win a case. Whoever they go to court with wins them because they do not know what they are doing. But Gambians never learn. The police Yahya Jammeh used are the same police who are doing things and these are the people who would also say in future they were forced to do it. But the days of impunity is over. Everyone will pay for whatever you do. But we know who are behind it. It’s [Mamour] Jobe and the SIS director Ousman Sowe.”
“They brought us here and charged us again. They can do whatever they like but we’re not going to give any new statement,” Sheriffo Sonko confirming their detention told The Fatu Network.
