Civil society organisations in Sierra Leone have strongly denounced the execution last week of 9 inmates on death row in The Gambia, saying it represents “a tragic setback to efforts at developing a human rights culture in the region”.
In a press release issued by AdvocAid, Amnesty International Sierra Leone, Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law and Prison Watch Sierra Leone, they organisations say the executions placed The Gambia “out of step with its fellow African Union states, the majority of which are abolitionist in law or practice”.
They say the executions and threat by President Yahyah Jammeh to execute all death row inmates diminish any hope that the leadership of The Gambian is committed to abolishing the death penalty.
They say the “tragic example” set by The Gambia by this action also highlights “the weakness of death penalty moratoriums” and urge the Sierra Leone Government to consider abolishing the death penalty, as recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
They however welcome the official moratorium on executions issued last year, and call on the Government to take a stand against the use of the death penalty in the region by urging The Gambian Government to halt any further executions and commute prisoners on death row to terms of imprisonment.
“Such a call is in line with the African Union, United Nations and European Union’s stance” the release says.
(c) Politico 30/08/12
