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The
Fultons in The Gambia |
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Please pray for Dave
and Fiona Fulton who have been fined and sentenced to imprisonment with
hard labour for sedition in The Gambia. |
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| Background | |||||||||||||||||||||
| The Gambia is
the smallest African country and is situated in West Africa, surrounded
by Senegal on three sides and the Atlantic Ocean on the West. It has a
population of just over 1 million made up of 25 ethnic groups of which
the largest tribes are the Mandinko and the Wolof. the official language
is English, although 21 languages are widely spoken.
The majority of the population are Muslim (over 90%) although there is significant animist influence. Approximately 9% consider themselves to be Christians with just over half of those being Roman Catholic. There are just over 100 church congregations throughout The Gambia, half of which are Roman Catholic and 13 Methodist or Anglican. The remainder are either independent or small church congregations, mainly evangelical and charismatic. These churches are predominantly based in the four main towns of Banjul (the capital), Serrakunda, Brikama and Bakau where 20% of the population live. The remainder live in villages or isolated homes spread from the coastal region along the 400 km length of the country heading inland. |
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8th December 2008 |
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For more information contact Martin
Speed, Telephone |
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Dave and Fiona arrested,
sentenced and gaoled On Saturday 29th November Dave and Fiona were arrested for sedition (undermining the authority of the government). They have since been held separately, Dave in the high security Mile Two prison in solitary confinement and Fiona in the police station initially with two year old Elizabeth but who is now in the care of friends. They were formally charged with the offence in court on 4th December and remain imprisoned as a result because of the difficult bail conditions. They appeared in court again on Wednesday 24th December when they pleaded guilty to the charge of sedition and were sentenced on 30th December to one years imprisonment with hard labour and a fine of about £6250 in sterling. We are shocked and saddened by the severity of the sentence and are doing whatever we can to seek their release. Please pray concerning an appeal against this sentence. On 12th January a question was raised in the UK Parliament recorded in Hansard as below: Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Gambian authorities on the case of David and Fiona Fulton; and if he will make a statement. [244524] Gillian Merron: Consular staff in the Gambia have been providing consular assistance to Mr. and Mrs. Fulton and their daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton have been visited several times. They have legal representation and consular staff are in regular contact with their legal representative. We are making further inquiries in relation to their case. In order to establish whether representations may be appropriate. On 13th January a written question was submitted to the European Parliament as below: WRITTEN QUESTION by Graham Watson (Alliance of
Liberals and Democrats for Europe) to the Commission We have no information concerning a response. 26th March On 25th May Dave Fulton is due to appear in
court again to defend a charge of impersonating an officer in the
army. A recent statement in the Gambian press stated: "The Gambia Police Force in ensuring general security will no longer allow the usage of licence plates that are not officially issued by the police", which of course implies they did allow them up until now. The court appearance due on the 16th June was not made so the magistrate
has dismissed the case.
There is a preliminary hearing on Thursday 25 th to seek leave
for appeal both against conviction AND sentence regarding the number plate
charge.
Leave for appeal was granted by the above hearing and the date of the
Appeal hearing has been set for Monday 20th July 2009. We are
encouraged by this news as it is another step in the right direction. Let’s
praise God for the progress so far and pray that the appeal might come
to a satisfactory conclusion.
Due to the imminent summer recess the Judge at the above hearing allowed the
defence and prosecution to continue the case by written submissions and, when the
court re-opens on 5th October 2009, briefs will be filed and a date set
for judgement.
Mid September is still a possible release date for Fiona. Please pray for the lawyers
involved in the case, for Fiona's release, rapid progress after 5th October and
for God's intervention in the whole situation.
13th
November 6th
December 2009 29th
December 2009 30th
December 2009 Latest update 25th
January 2010
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Please write
a letter to encourage them Write a Letter to any of the following to highlight their case |
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