Gambia Affairs: 6 Convicted for Watching Arab Spring News in Zimbabwe

By LYDIA POLGREEN

JOHANNESBURG — Six political activists in Zimbabwe who gathered last year to watch and discuss television news broadcasts of the Arab Spring protests were convicted Monday of plotting to overthrow the government.
The penalty could be 10 years in prison. They are to be sentenced Tuesday.
Some 45 activists, students and trade unionists were arrested last February while attending a meeting convened by Munyaradzi Gwisai, a lecturer at the law school at the University of Zimbabwe and former member of Parliament for Zimbabwe's main opposition party, to discuss the implications of the anti-authoritarian uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Gwisai and the others were planning to start a similar uprising in Zimbabwe aimed at toppling President Robert G. Mugabe, who has been in power for three decades. Most of the defendants were later released, but six, including Mr. Gwisai, were charged with serious crimes. Lawyers for the accused said the meeting was an academic discussion, not a planning session for a revolution.
The judge in the case, Kudakwashe Jarabini, said in court that while watching videos of the Arab uprisings was not a crime, the organizers intended to incite hostility toward the government by playing them, according to people in the courtroom..
Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has been in a tenuous unity government with the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, since the 2008 election. Mr. Tsvangirai won the most votes but dropped out of the race because of violence against his supporters. International pressure led to the creation of a unity government. But Mr. Mugabe retained the most crucial government posts, particularly those that control the police and army.
Mr. Mugabe's party has been pushing hard for new elections, hoping to win power again in its own right while Mr. Mugabe, whose health has grown more fragile as he ages, remains alive. But the M.D.C. and many activist and analysts have argued against holding elections before a new constitution is drawn up and crucial institutions, like the election commission, have been reformed. An estimated 350 people died in violence during the 2008 election.
Shortly after the 45 activists were arrested last year, a lawyer working for them reported that a dozen had been tortured to try to force them to testify for the state: beaten with broomsticks, metal rods and blunt objects, and that six had been lashed, prompting a letter of concern from the United Nations torture investigator, Juan E. Méndez.
Dewa Mavhinga of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a collection of hundreds of civic groups, said that it appeared that the window for change in Zimbabwe was closing.
"It is an indicator that we are really going towards elections and that the democratic space that was previously somewhat open is quickly closing down," Mr. Mavhinga said. "There is no crime that has been committed. It is a political issue that is being dealt with a politicized and severely compromised judiciary."

Gambia Affairs:Military Mob Hammers Man To Coma

Mr.Sidibeh on his hospital bed

By Saikou Ceesay

A group of military men Wednesday unleashed a severe beating on Demba Sidibeh of Bakau New Town, sending him to coma for almost six hours, The Daily News has gathered.
At press time, Demba, 25, alias Pa boy was receiving treatment at the country's main referral hospital, Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in Banjul, the capital. Sources there confirmed that he was responding to treatment, but his condition remained critical.
The military personnel, about ten of them, clamped down on the 25-year-old-civilian at his residence, several witnesses to the incident confirmed to this paper.
"He was beaten until he fell and fainted," Seedy Kanyi, a civil servant and a family relative of this victim of yet another torture incident. "This is painful," tearful Mr Kanyi managed to mournfully say between sobs.
Eye witnesses say the saga came about as the group of military men chased two teenagers into the victim's compound. The teenagers are believed to be among the football fans that heckled and stoned at The Gambia's senior national team players, following a 2-1 defeat at home to Algeria in the African Nations Cup preliminary qualifiers.
And when Mr Sidibeh queried their action, the military men descended on him and repeatedly hit him with baton.
The auto mechanic student at The Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) was rushed to Serrekunda hospital and later referred to RVTH where he was admitted at the emergency unit.
The 25-year-old man could not still utter a word at press time, nor could he stand on his feet, but has recovered from unconsciousness, his family has confirmed.
Lt.Bekai Sidibeh, a military police has visited Demba Sidibeh at the hospital. He assured the family of the victim that the military men responsible would face justice.
The army spokesperson, 2nd Lt. Babucarr Jarjue, was contacted to shed light on the issue, but he claimed to be busy. He promised to contact this reporter, which was not done at the time of going to press.
Source:Daily News

Gambia Affairs:Puntland Radio Station Closed, Director Held

New York, March 5, 2012--Authorities in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia shut down an independent radio broadcaster and arrested the station's director over coverage of fighting between the government and Al-Shabaab militants, local journalists said. Around 10:20 p.m. Saturday, armed police arriving in two vehicles raided Codka Nabadda (Voice of Peace) in the port city of Bossasso, confiscated equipment, and sealed the studios, local journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists. An hour later, police raided the home of the station's director, Awke Abdullahi, and are holding him at the Bossasso Central Police Station. He has not been charged, although it is not legal in Puntland to hold a suspect for more than 48 hours without charge. The raids occurred hours after Codka Nabadda, in an afternoon program called "Bandhiga Codka Nabadda," aired coverage of clashes between Puntland government forces and militants linked to Al-Shabaab in Puntland's Galgala mountains, according to local reports. The program interviewed presidential spokesman Ahmed Omar Hersi about the fighting as well as Al-Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Mus'ab.  Puntland Deputy Security Minister Abdi Jamal Osman told reporters at a press conference Sunday that the station was closed due to "false reporting" and for inciting instability in the Bossasso region, according to local journalists. Abdullahi is expected to appear in court next week, he said. He also said that only a presidential pardon would ensure that the station reopens and Abdullahi is released, according to local journalists. Puntland security forces had warned local journalists in the past not to broadcast news about fighting in the Galgala area, according to local reports. "No independent broadcaster should be shuttered simply for doing their job as professional journalists, interviewing both sides of a story," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "Authorities should release Abdullahi and reopen the station immediately." In August 2010, authorities arrested the former director of Horseed Radio, Abdifatah Jama, for authorizing an interview of a rebel commander with Al-Shabaab links in the Galgala Mountains. Jama faced a six-year prison sentence but was released on presidential pardon after 86 days. Al-Shabaab-linked militias in northeastern regions of Puntland, led by Sheikh Mohamed Said Atom, have waged a conflict against Puntland authorities for several years. Local journalists have continually faced threats, arrests, and harassment for reporting on the conflict. Radio Codka Nabadda is considered one of the most independent stations in Somalia, according to local journalists. It operates two other stations based in Mogadishu and Galkayo. ### CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.