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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
 Posted - 20 May 2016 : 14:36:14
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THE CASE IS NOT PROCEEDING BUT BAIL IS DENIED
Foroyaa Editorial: May 18, 2016
The courts are intended not only to administer law but also to protect rights.
The presumption of innocence is the fundamental right of any accused person brought before the court of justice.
Justice must not be delayed and the accused person must not be denied justice by presuming him or her guilty before any trial.
This is why bail should never be denied if cases before courts are unduly prolonged.
The judge has deemed it wise and proper to recuse from the cases related to the April 14 and 16 incidents. The cases are now stranded, yet the accused persons are still remanded in custody. How could such a contradiction be justified?
It is our conviction that if justice is to be done, no accused person should be in detention while the seat of judge is vacant.
We therefore hope that this matter would be focused on and that steps would be taken to ensure that cases relating to the April 14 and 16 incidents are not unduly prolonged while the accused persons languish in detention.
The court of justice should not allow this to happen.
DECEMBER 1st IS NEAR BUT POLITICALLY MOTIVATED TRIALS ARE STILL ONGOING WHEN WILL REASON AND COMMON SENSE PREVAIL?
Foroyaa Editorial: May 19, 2016
The Elections Amendment Act 2015 has not prevented the number of opposition parties increasing to eight. Hence currently there are nine registered political parties in the Gambia. This is what the Gambian Constitution provides. Every Gambian has a right to join or not to join political parties and no law should restrict the number of political parties that could be formed in the Gambia. No law could establish a one party state.
There are some undemocratic Gambians who are opposed to the existence of many parties. Some feel that this would weaken the camp of the opposition. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Competition between parties makes them to be more vibrant. There are over 200 parties in Senegal. The form of alliance they create still led to the victory for the opposition presidential candidate. What is important is the maturity of the electorate. Once the electorate becomes mature, they would cast their vote on the basis of informed choice.
Hence the real challenge is to raise the awareness of the Gambian people so that no one would be able to induce or intimidate them. Once this is achieved, the number of parties that exist would not prevent the undiluted choice of the people from emerging.
What the Gambian state needs to do now is to stop all the criminal proceedings against the UDP leadership and their supporters and leave them to go and prepare themselves for political combat at the ballot box in 2016 either as a party or part of an alliance. This is the way forward.
Source: Foroyaa
Related Topics:
- Lawyer Darboe, Party Executives Arrested
- April 14 alleged demonstrators denied bail
- 36 UDP SUPPORTERS IN DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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WHEN WILL REASON AND COMMON SENSE PREVAIL?
