Gambian court dismisses coup plotters' appeal
Xinhua, June 13, 2015 Adjust font size:
Gambia's high court has rejected an appeal case file tendered by four military personnel involved in last year's December military coup in the country.
The four are Lieutenant Colonel Sarjo Jarju, Lieutenant Amadou Sowe, Lieutenant Buba Sanneh and Private Modou Njie. They were convicted and sentenced by the court martial headed by a high court judge, Emmanuel Amadi, in March after they were found guilty on charges of treason, desertion, conspiracy and mutiny.
Jarju, Sanneh and Njie were sentenced to death while Sowe was sentenced to life in prison.
They appeared at the high court Thursday. However, a high court judge, Simeon Abi, ruled that the high court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the soldiers' appeal as the case originated in the martial court.
The chief prosecutor represented the state, but the four men were not represented in court.
They were escorted to court by uniformed and un-uniformed state security personnel amid heightened security.
It is not yet clear whether the soldiers will be executed by the court martial in Banjul, a military source told Xinhua Friday.
In 2012, nine inmates were executed by a firing squad, and Amnesty International and human rights groups have requested the Gambian government to consider a moratorium. Endi