Amnesty for policemen linked to massacre

Members of The Gambia’s security forces found responsible for the death of about 14 people last year, have been granted amnesty under a law passed on Thursday by parliament, AFP reported. The law entitles the president to grant amnesty “for any fact, matter or omission of act, or things done or purported to have been done during any unlawful assembly, public disturbance, riotous situation or period of public emergency”, AFP reported.

The legislation has been backdated to 10 April 2000, when security forces violently suppressed a demonstration students organised to protest against the death of one of their colleagues. A team commissioned to investigate the incident identified the officers responsible in its report, submitted to the government in September.