Former Gambia intelligence chief Yankuba Badjie and four other security personnel have been found guilty of murdering a political activist in 2016 during the terrible final weeks of Yahya Jammeh’s brutal dictatorship and have been given the death penalty by a local judge.
Ebrima Solo Sandeng, an activist and prominent member of the opposition United Democratic Party, was detained during anti-government demonstrations.
Two days later, after being assaulted and tormented, he passed away in prison.
His passing sparked a wave of populist rage that ultimately resulted in President Jammeh’s ouster after 22 years in office.
Sheikh Omar Jeng, the former head of operations for the organisation, along with NIA officers Babucarr Sallah, Lamin Darboe, and Tamba Mansary, were all found guilty on the same allegations and given death sentences by the Banjul court.
During a protest against Jammeh in April 2016, Sandeng was detained. Two days later, after being assaulted and tormented, he passed away in detention.
His passing sparked a political movement that ultimately led to Jammeh’s overthrow after 22 years in power in the small West African country.
Lamin Sanyang, a nurse, and Haruna Susso, another NIA employee, were cleared of all charges related to murder and bodily harm.
Louie Richard Leese Gomez, the former deputy director of the espionage service, was also charged but is no longer alive.
Yusupha Jammeh, another official, had been charged but eventually found not guilty
In April, Bai Lowe, a former partner of Jammeh, was put on trial in Germany on charges of murder, attempted murder, and crimes against humanity.
While Michael Sang Correa, who is claimed to have been a hitman, was indicted in June 2020 in the United States, the former interior minister Ousman Sonko has been the subject of an investigation in Switzerland since 2017.
Jammeh has been charged with a number of offenses, including rape, using death squads, and ordering the abduction of political rivals. The Gambia’s government promised to charge him in May.
The prosecution of more than 200 other people for crimes committed under the former president’s administration was also recommended by a truth panel, which the government agreed.
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