Accra — Protestors waved picket signs and banners through the streets of Accra last Wednesday morning, from the International Press Centre to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The protest march was part of the Public Forum on The Gambia, which was organized by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Amnesty International, Ghana (AI Ghana), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), and Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC), to protest human rights violations in The Gambia.

Last Wednesday, 22nd July, also happened to be the anniversary of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's coup d'tat and rise to power in 1994, ironically named "Freedom Day." Since then, the Gambian government has initiated many forms of human rights violations, including torture, wrongful imprisonment and death. Since the beginning of President Jammeh's regime, there have been seven failed coups.

Present at the forum were Mohammed Shardow (MFWA), Mina Mensah (CHRI), Adzahlie Mensah (AI Ghana), Daniel Asare (HRAC) and Ugonna Duru (MFWA), among others.

The forum was part of a campaign that was to occur concurrently with a number of countries. It was also used as a means of alerting the public to outstanding issues regarding the murder of 44 Ghanaians in The Gambia in 2005. Mrs. Mensah from AI Ghana lamented, "The families of the victims need some sort of closure."

The forum also highlighted the stories of Ebrima Manneh, Edwin Nebolisa Nwakaeme and Femi Peters, three Gambian men who are missing, detained, or imprisoned, respectively.

Mr. Manneh, a Gambian reporter from the Daily Observer, was arrested by members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in July 2006, allegedly for trying to print a BBC article, which was critical of Gambian government. While the government denied having anything to do with the arrest and disappearence, Mr. Manneh was seen in 2007 in a hospital detained by Gambian police.

Also that year, Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court ordered that Mr. Manneh be released from "unlawful detention." However, to this date, the Gambian government denies his detention and has therefore not complied with the court order. Mr. Manneh has not been seen since.

Mr. Nwakaeme, a Nigerian national who had been in charge of Africa in Democracy and Good Governance (ADG) since 2006, is detained since March 1 on charges of "providing false information to a public official."

Although he pleaded not guilty to the charges, he has been placed in Mile 2 maximum security prison in Banjul; the prison has a reputation for having harsh living conditions for prisoners. It is reported that authorities have confiscated Mr. Nwakaeme's passport and that he faces possible deportation to Nigeria. Amnesty International believes that his activities as a human rights defender are the true reason for his imprisonment.

Mr. Peters, who is the campaign manager for the United Democratic Party (UDP)-current president Jammeh's opposition party-is also confined in Mile 2 prison, charged with organizing a political rally without a permit. According to Mr. Peters, to hold a political rally is a constitutional right. He also claimed that he made a request for a permit that was denied by the police. Mr. Peters has been sentenced to one year imprisonment. Meanwhile, Mr. Peters' judgement is being appealed by his lawyer.

Mr. Peters' son calls his father's conviction a "miscarriage of justice" and says he has lost faith in the Gambian government.

MFWA, AI Ghana, CHRI and HRAC have called the day of the forum "Gambia Day of Action." At the forum, the foundations urged "all members of civil society in Africa" to "save Gambia now!" and to protest the violations of human rights committed by the Gambian government.

According to Amnesty International, more human rights violations made by the Gambian government include poor prison conditions, in Mile 2 prison and other places, where prisoners are "subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment." Lack of freedom of expression puts journalists at risk, especially journalists who are suspected of writing stories that are inimical to Gambian authorities.

Amnesty International reports that state-sponsored "witch hunts" have forced approximately 1,000 people into secret detention centers, where they were made to consume hallucinogens and were later tortured into confessing witchcraft.

The forum on Wednesday informed participants of the action plan created by MFWA, AI Ghana, CHRI and HRAC, to not only stop the human rights violations, but to also ensure that The Gambia comply with all court decisions made by the ECOWAS court. The MFWA urged all African states to participate in the plan.