Amnesty International has issued a statement on Monday January 7, 2019; welcoming the start of the Commission’s hearing as an “important initial step towards securing justice, truth and reparation in the Gambia by showing a strong commitment by the government to break with a past of systematic human rights violations”.
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission of the Gambia (TRRC) established to probe the human rights violations of former dictator Yahya Jammeh has began hearing from this Monday.
The first session of the commission is looking into the chain of events that led to the toppling of the constitutional order by Jammeh.
Ebrima Chongan, a police commander at the time of the coup who trained the former ruler Jammeh, was the first witness before the Commission.
Chongan was among the first 29 senior security officials who were detained by the Junta for over 45 days incommunicado.
“We hope that the testimonies and the information collected during these hearings will enable the truth to be known to the public and contribute to a renewed commitment to justice and accountability for all those Gambians that have been victims of human rights violations for more than 22 years,” said the Amnesty on Monday.
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) was established and launched on the 5th of October 2018 to look into the alleged human rights violations during the 22-year rule of former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
