\n Investigators urged Gambia's government to pursue criminal charges against those responsible for crimes committed under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh, in a long-awaited reported handed to the president on Thursday.\n<\/p>\n
\n Rights groups have long pushed for prosecutions for the litany alleged abuses -- such as the use of death squads -- committed during Jammeh's 22-year rule.\n<\/p>\n
\n The final report of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was originally scheduled for release in July but has been delayed several times.\n<\/p>\n
\n Publishing the report is politically sensitive in the West African country, where Jammeh has significant support.\n<\/p>\n
\n The nation of two million people is also in the middle of a presidential campaign in which the return of the former dictator from exile has been a central theme.\n<\/p>\n
\n TRRC officials handed President Adama Barrow their findings in a ceremony in the capital Banjul, an AFP journalist saw.\n<\/p>\n
\n A TRRC statement delivered to the press said that it contains recommendations to pursue charges against people who \"bear the greatest responsibility for human rights violations and abuses\".\n<\/p>\n
\n The findings of the truth panel come after more than two years of hearings into Jammeh-era crimes.\n<\/p>\n
\n Witnesses gave chilling evidence about state-sanctioned torture, death squads, rape and witch hunts, often at the hands of the \"Junglers\", as Jammeh's death squads were known.\n<\/p>\n
\n The TRRC has not been empowered to prosecute those responsible for crimes, but its report has been eagerly awaited by rights groups and victims.\n<\/p>\n
\n The contents of the report will not immediately be made public.\n<\/p>\n
\n Barrow is expected to release a white paper within six months on how to implement its recommendations.\n<\/p>\n
\n Addressing a news conference in Banjul, the president promised to deliver the white paper on time and assured victims that \"justice will be done\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Jammeh seized power in 1994 as part of a bloodless military coup in The Gambia -- the smallest country in mainland Africa.\n<\/p>\n
\n He was then repeatedly re-elected in disputed circumstances until Barrow, who was then a relative unknown, defeated him at the ballot box in December 2016.\n<\/p>\n
\n After a six-week crisis that led to military intervention by other West African states, Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Presidential race -\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite the magnitude of abuse allegations facing Jammeh, the 56-year-old retains a considerable following in The Gambia.\n<\/p>\n
\n Many supporters are pushing for his return from exile.\n<\/p>\n
\n His influence has been a key issue in the run-up to a presidential election on December 4 -- the first since the ex-dictator's departure.\n<\/p>\n
\n Jammeh addressed a campaign rally remotely this month, arguing that Barrow had \"rigged\" the 2016 elections.\n<\/p>\n
\n Barrow, for his part, sought an alliance with Jammeh's APRC party in September -- a move viewed by some as an electoral ploy.\n<\/p>\n
\n Rights activists denounced the alliance, which also stirred fears that it could lead to Jammeh's return.\n<\/p>\n
\n But Jammeh subsequently disavowed the electoral pact, which he said was taken without his knowledge, and his supporters have formed a rival party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Investigators urged Gambia's government to pursue criminal charges against those responsible for crimes committed under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh, in a long-awaited reported handed to the president on Thursday. Rights groups have long pushed for prosecutions for the litany alleged abuses -- such as the use of death squads -- committed during Jammeh's 22-year rule. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-84693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n