Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Alhagie Barrow and Papa Fall granted bail, "Jammeh worse than Idi Amin" says the defense lawyer

Alhagie Barrow and Papa Faal, two of the three Gambian-Americans who were among those accused of being part of the team who attacked State House in Banjul have been granted bail in a Minnesota courthouse.

The duo will remain in detention until a half-way house is ready for them before they are transferred there.

While on bail, the two will not have access to cell phone and computers because, according to the magistrate all of their planning and execution of their attack on State House have been conducted using these devises.

Alhagie Barrow and Papa Faal will remain in their respective half-way houses for an unspecified time before the court will determine if they can return to their homes which will be based on good behavior.  They have been granted visitation rights while in half-way house.

Many Gambians have been in attendance in the court when the defense lawyer of Alhagie Barrow described Yaya Jammeh as the "worse than Idi Amin" who said that the Gambian dictator has not exploited the oil he claimed to have been discovered in The Gambia.

For the prosecution lawyer, he was explicit to say he was in court to represent the United States Government and not any foreign country.  It is believed that the prosecution was obliged to reiterate the point to counter the impression given to Gambians by the regime of Yaya Jammeh that he was the one who asked the America government to arrest and prosecute the trio.  The fate of the third accused, Cherno Njie, who is accused of financing the entire operation is yet to be determined.

In the bail hearing of Papa Faal, the judge raised concern about the whereabouts of his Gambian passport out of concern for his safety rather than anything else.  The judge is concern that the deplorable human rights abuses going on in the Gambia that drove these Gambian-Americans that still persist may tempt them to try to return to Gambia to finish the job.

Both the judge and the defense lawyer do not lose sight of the fact that Alhagie Barrow's parents have been arrested by the regime of Yaya Jammeh and their safety is paramount in their minds. Americans, including the judge and lawyers, cannot understand why parents, friends and other relatives are being arrested simply because they are related to the accused.

Alhagie Barrow and Papa Faal were in court today but so was Yaya Jammeh and his regime, and as the judicial process unfolds, so will be the evils of the regime will be exposed.

The State-controlled radio and television station, GRTS, that announced the arrest and initial denial of the bail, it has ignored reporting on today's development of the granting of bail to the two Gambian-American which is consistent with the standard operating procedure of the regime : manipulation of the news to suit its agenda.