Gambia
Gambian President Adama Barrow has said he will favour the extradition of his predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, if a commission of inquiry into human-rights abuses during the former ruler’s 22-year reign recommends that he stands trial.
Jammeh’s two-decade rule of the tiny West African nation came to an end in January 2017 after Senegalese troops and Nigerian fighter jets were sent to the capital, Banjul, to enforce the outcome of Barrow’s election victory in December 2016.
The country’s parliament passed a law in December 2017 to establish a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission to probe state crimes committed during Jammeh’s reign, which was characterized by a violent clampdown on dissent and opposition parties and pledges to kill homosexuals.
“I stand for justice for all crimes committed against the population. No one is above the law,” Barrow said in an interview in Banjul on Wednesday. If the commission recommends a trial then Jammeh “will face the full force of the law.”
In July, Barrow initiated a separate commission of inquiry to identify Jammeh’s assets and probe whether they were legally acquired.
Jammeh, 52, who lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea, was sanctioned last month by the U.S for alleged human-rights abuses and corruption during his reign. Gambia doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Equatorial Guinea.
Go to video
Nearly 200 migrants intercepted off the coast of Senegal
Go to video
African migrants targeted as visa scams surge amid tougher immigration rules in Canada
01:12
US President Trump announces surprise summit with five African Nations
01:47
Sierra Leone’s Bio takes over as ECOWAS chair
01:37
Kenyan police officer arrested after protests over blogger's death in custody
01:52
138 million child workers globally in 2024, number down from 2020