The Gambian Prosecutor’s Office has requested more time to complete its work on the alleged coup attempt unraveled in December, following the indictment of several people for treason and conspiracy.
Gambian prosecutor Abdul Maita Yusuf has indicated that he is preparing to «file an indictment document to comply with the procedures of the Supreme Court,» where the case has been transferred from a trial court that lacked jurisdiction to deal with treason cases.
«Considering that the case is coming (to the court) for the first time, we are asking for leniency from the court to give us time to file the charge sheet before the next set date,» he explained, as reported by the Gambian daily ‘Foroyaa’.
He also stated that two of the defendants do not have legal representation for the time being and asked the court to assign court-appointed lawyers to them, while one of the defense lawyers demanded «to put the house in order to proceed with the trial».
Lamin Camara, who represents the alleged ‘mastermind’ of the plot, Sanna Fadera, and Ebrimah Balde, stressed that his clients have been detained for about a month and stressed that they are entitled to a speedy trial to determine their alleged guilt.
Gambian government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh announced on December 21 the arrest of four soldiers who were «planning to overthrow the democratically elected government of President Adama Barrow». A few days later three other soldiers suspected of involvement in the plan were arrested.
Barrow was sworn in January 2022 for a second term after the Supreme Court rejected in late December the appeal filed by the main opposition candidate against the official results of the elections of December 4, 2021.
The incumbent, who claimed victory in December 2016 after running as an independent with the support of Jamé’s opposition groups, was sworn in January 2017 after the dictator went into exile in Equatorial Guinea after initially rejecting his defeat, leading to a threat of military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
