The Gambia
Amnesty for Gambian killer police officers

afrol News, 20 April - Members of The Gambia's security forces found responsible for the death of about 14 people last year, have been granted amnesty under a law passed on Thursday by parliament, according to a report by AFP. 

The law entitles the president to grant amnesty "for any fact, matter or omission of act, or things done or purported to have been done during any unlawful assembly, public disturbance, riotous situation or period of public emergency", AFP reported. 

The legislation has been backdated to 10 April 2000, when security forces violently suppressed a demonstration students organised to protest against the death of one of their colleagues. A team commissioned to investigate the incident identified the officers responsible in its report, submitted to the government in September. 

Earlier this week, Amnesty International (AI) had urged the Gambian government to prosecute the policemen found responsible for the death of 12 persons during clashes between security forces and students in April 2000. 

The dead included a Red Cross volunteer and six children. A public outcry led the government to set up a commission of inquiry, which submitted its report in September. The commission held security officers and student leaders responsible for the deaths and recommended their prosecution. 

However, the government has not acted on the recommendation, claiming that it would not be in the interest of national reconciliation, AI said. "The government must take seriously all the Commission's findings and proceed with its recommendations", AI said. 

It added that if their acts went unpunished, security forces might feel they were above the law and perpetrate other violations. 

- The Gambian authorities' decision not to prosecute in the interests of "national reconciliation" is short-sighted, particularly given the findings of its own Commission of Inquiry, and will not prevent further violations by members of the security forces, AI said. "Any sense that the security forces are above the law is a serious threat to human rights."

Source: Based on Amnesty International and afrol archives

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