Gambia prosecutors file new charge against opposition leader

Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Gambian prosecutors charged opposition leader Ousaniou Darboe and 19 other activists arrested for unlawful assembly and rioting with a new charge of conspiracy to commit a felony.

Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), and his 19 co-defendants, including a new accused Masanneh Lalo Jawla, all pleaded not guilty to the charge at the high court in Banjul.

They had previously been charged with unlawful assembly, rioting and incitement to violence. Jawla was also charged with all the counts earlier levelled against his co-defendants.

They are among 38 people arrested over demonstrations on April 14 and 16.

Some of them were detained on April 14 after a rare opposition protest demanding political reforms while the others were arrested following a demonstration two days later against the death of UDP official Solo Sandeng, who is reported to have died suspiciously in custody, according to his party and human rights groups.

The court adjourned the case to May 5 and did not rule on their bail application.

On Wednesday, their lawyers told the court that the defendants had been denied adequate food, access to medical attention and family visits.

Defence lawyer Hawa Sisay Sabally said her client Fanta Darboe had "sustained severe injuries" to her right hand and other parts of her body but had not yet received medical attention.

Prosecutor Hadi Saleh Barkum rejected the allegations.

The court had however ordered prison authorities to allow the defendants access to adequate food, care and visits from their relatives.

The small west African nation is ruled with an iron fist by President Yahya Jammeh who came to power in a coup in 1994 and was first elected head of state in 1996.

The 50-year-old is expected to seek a fifth mandate in a presidential poll in December.