Ex-Gambian spies get death sentence for killing activist under Jammeh

Political activist Ebrima Solo Sandeng died after torture and beating in detention after main a peaceable march.

Protest by realtives of victims of the rule of Yahya Jammeh, the previous president of the Gambia [File: Screen grab/ Al Jazeera]

A Gambian courtroom has sentenced former intelligence chief Yankuba Badji and 4 different members of the intelligence service to loss of life for the killing of a political activist Ebrima Solo Sandeng throughout the rule of former strongman Yahya Jammeh.

The ruling was given on Wednesday.

The nation has noticed a moratorium on the loss of life penalty since 2018, so the sentences handed down by Gambia’s excessive courtroom shall be transformed to life imprisonment.

Badji was discovered responsible of the killing of Sandeng, an vital determine within the opposition United Democratic Celebration.

The deceased was arrested by state safety after main a peaceable opposition march for political reform in April 2016.

Sandeng died two days later in detention and was buried in an unmarked grave, witnesses mentioned, leading to anger amongst Gambians who voted Jammeh out eight months later.

The opposite 4 brokers discovered responsible of the identical expenses as Badji and sentenced to loss of life had been the company’s former operations chief Sheikh Omar Jeng, officers Baboucarr Sallah, Lamin Darboe and Tamba Mansary.

Jammeh dominated The Gambia for 22 years and was extensively accused of human rights violations, together with torture and arbitrary arrests.

He fled the nation in 2017 to Equatorial Guinea and stays in exile.

His successor Adama Barrow’s authorities has mentioned it should prosecute Jammeh and others for killings, rapes and different crimes dedicated throughout his 1994 to 2017 rule in keeping with suggestions by a reality and reconciliation fee final 12 months.