A British couple was sentenced to hard labor in Gambia for criticizing the country.
Two British missionaries broke down and wept as they were sentenced to a year’s hard labour in jail after pleading guilty to charges of sedition. Relatives and friends of David and Fiona Fulton, who have three children – including a two-year-old adopted daughter – expressed their dismay and horror at the severity of the punishment handed down to the couple from Torquay by a court in Gambia.
The judge quoted from an email sent in September, entitled “Hell In The Gambia,” in which the country, which is 97 per cent Muslim, is described as “sinking fast into a morass of Islam”….
The presiding magistrate in the case, Idrissa Mbai, said that he intended the sentence to deter others seeking to criticise the government of President Yahya Jammeh, who has cracked down on dissent in the wake of a series of coup attempts.
“I found the offences of the accused party to be very shocking. They have shown no respect for the country, the government and the president of the republic. I will send a clear message to the offenders,” he said. He also imposed fines of £6,250 on each of the defendants. Failure to pay will result in an additonal six months in prison, he said.
Freedom of speech, certainly freedom to criticize, should never be taken for granted. In Islamic countries caution is especially called for. Read more here.
