The Gambia: Dr. Amadou S. Janneh and Co.; the closing argument

By Mathew K Jallow

Crunch time is upon us. The prosecutor has spoken. Guided by the state prosecutor, the witnesses too have spoken. After weeks of testimonies, the frivolous trial of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh and his codefendants is finally coming to a conclusion. The trial period was unbearable in more ways than one. The sight of Dr. Janneh and codefendants handcuffed and in leg shackles, is more than anyone could bear to behold, but seeing them being lifted off the ground like furniture items and placed in the backs of military trucks, brought tears to the eyes of many Gambians. And the one question every Gambian wants answered is why any innocent person should be subjected to such inhuman treatment. The case against Dr. Janneh and the CCG 7 is a typical case of wild goose chase; a politically motivated vendetta against Gambians who hold strong political views that are diametrically opposed to that under which the Gambian regime is functioning. The charges of treason and sedition against the CCG defendants is an overkill that demonstrates the intolerance to political views that do not conform to those espoused by Yahya Jammeh’s regime. As citizens, members of CCG as a civil society organization, have rights guaranteed by the Gambian Constitution to hold political views of their choosing and to politically associate with any like-minded Gambian. But the frivolously of this trial, and the attempt by Yahya Jammeh to muzzle opposition rights to free speech and association is exemplified by the twenty-five thousand people around the world have signed the petition calling for the unconditional freeing of Dr. Amadou S Janneh and the CCG co-defendants.

Beyond that, we will recap the salient issues surrounding this trial and legally demonstrate how it does not tantamount to anything remotely close to treason and sedition. At the beginning of 2011, a group of like-minded Gambians came together to found a civil society organization, the Coalition for Change Gambia (CCG), to monitor human and civil rights violations in Gambia and bring these to the fore-front of the political conversation. Prior to the founding of CCG, ten other Gambian civil society associations with similar mission objectives had independently been established across Europe, The United States and Senegal. The concerns about human rights violations in the Gambia, which include extra-judicial executions, politically motivated murders and disappearances of citizens most of them since 2005, were the primary motivators in founding these diverse organizations with similar objectives. The printing of t-shirts with political statements by CCG is heart of the issue surrounding the charges of treason and sedition for which Dr. Janneh and Co. have stood trial for the past four months. The t-shirts bore two messages calling; “End Dictatorship Now” and “Freedom.” The full inscription on the t-shirts reads “Coalition for Change - End Dictatorship Now” in the front and “Freedom” at the back. Owing to the history of the past seventeen years since Yahya Jammeh’s regime came to power, members of CCG did determine that the Gambian regime is operating a “dictatorship” as a result, there are no political “freedoms” in the country; hence “the end to dictatorship” and the restoration of “freedoms” in Gambia on t-shirts CCG gave out to a few Gambians.

Now the trial has ended and the verdict of the court is upon us, and what is still not clear to any Gambian is what exactly is treasonous and seditious in what CCG members have done. The formation of political associations and printing and giving out t-shirts with political messages on them represent CCG member’s political opinions that; there is a dictatorship in Gambia and further, that Gambians need political freedoms, which are both statements members the members of CCG feel strongly about to be the case, whether or not someone else disagrees with the statement is totally irrelavant. So what exactly is the state’s case for treason and sedition? Is it because CCG formed an organization that highlights cases of what its members feel are human rights violations or is it the political statements inscribed on the t-shirts “Coalition for Change - End Dictatorship Now” and “Freedom” which were given out to some individuals? Either way, CCG has always operated within the boundaries of law and the charges of treason and sedition are mere smokescreens to intimidate, silence and by extension, prevent its members from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed political rights to form a coalition of like-minded Gambians and to political dissent if we choose to. Moreover, considering the legal definition of the most egregious charges of treason, which defined by the U.S Constitution in its simple terms is “to aid and abet an enemy state against one’s own country, in particular when both states are engaged in a state of war,” and “taking up arms to militarily overthrown a legitimately elected government.” Dr. Janneh and the CCG so-defendants did nothing remotely close to being illegal or treasonous if one considers the following:

i.                   Forming political associations to oppose Yahya Jammeh’s regime, like the formations of political parties, is a constitutionally protected right CCG members enjoy by virtue of citizenship.

ii.                 Political statements come in all shades; from the subtle to the outrageous, and indeed may even call for the overthrow of sitting regimes, but unless the statements are acted upon militarily by taking up arms with the intention of overthrowing a legitimately elected regime, the statements, as outrageous and hateful as they may appear to Yahya Jammeh’s regime, are still constitutionally legal protected political speeches.

iii.              The statements” End Dictatorship Now” and “Freedom” which CCG inscribed on t-shirts are firmly held opinions which a supporter of Yahya Jammeh may totally disagree with, but holding such opinion and turning them into political messages is a prerogative the constitution guarantees to CCG members; not unlike t-shirts worn by Yahya Jammeh supporters calling for “Jammeh for Life” presidency, which is clearly a contravention of Gambia’s republican constitution. This in of its self is far from being treasonous.

iv.               Printing t-shirts bearing political statements that are offensive to the sensibilities of Yahya Jammeh or anyone else, are, regardless of the way Yahya Jammeh or anyone may feel, not illegal, whether we are talking about one t-shirt, ten, 10,000 or a millions whether they are on t-shirts, banners or placards, they are legal political messages.

v.                 CCG aspiring to own and run a radio station in Senegal is not illegal, in fact, many media conglomerates own tv and radio stations in multiple media markets, and as free citizens CCG members have a right to own and broadcast news and information they feel Gambians need to hear without regard to whether Yahya Jammeh or anyone else likes or hates the broadcast. It is a constitutional right CCG has, a right that is not given nor can it be taken away by Yahya Jammeh’s regime.

vi.               The issue of CCG’s “planned” protest was alluded to by the police investigators, who all became witnesses for the state. The last time I checked protests, demonstrations and riots against any government are constitutionally protected speeches. They may be odious in the eyes of the state, but they are nonetheless constitutionally protected free speeches. In defining the treason clause, the framers of the United States Constitution were careful not to criminalize political protests, demonstrators and riots, rather, recognizing them as another layer of protection against political tyranny which citizens have in order to express grievances. These are often political actions of last resort when citizens are unable to force a government’s change of behavior in any other way.

vii.            One of the centerpieces of state witness was the allegations that CCG members were discussion bad thing about the regime. CCG members have a right to talk about the regime and whether someone thinks what we said is not to their liking does not make it illegal. Moreover, it is extremely presumptuous to draw conclusions about treason and sedition from conversations about disagreeing with the policies of the regime and wanting to effect political changes such as freeing political prisoners, ending arrests and detention etc. etc.

In conclusion, if forming political associations of our choice is legal and protected by Gambia’s Constitution; and printing political statements on t-shirts, no matter how odious and hateful they may appear to someone else is protected free speech; and giving away such t-shirts is protected by freedom of association; and aspiring to own a radio station in a foreign country is not illegal; and protests, demonstrators and riots are protected by the free speech clause in our Constitution; and criticizing the regime, even using the most foul language possible are all legal and constitutionally protected freedoms of association and expression, then what are the treason and sedition for which Dr. Amadou S Janneh and the CCG co-defendants stood trial? That is the sixty four thousand dollar question the court must answer. This is an all round ridiculous case of political intimidation. Set Dr. Amadou S Janneh and the CCG 7 free.