Bai Lowe’s 13 year old son, relatives detained for 21 days now

132

By Mustapha Jallow Yusupha Lowe, who is 13 years old, Pa Alieu Lowe, 19 years old, and Jarriatou Lowe,Bai  Lowe who are the son, brother and ex-wife of Baboucar ‘Bai’ Lowe, Warrant Officer Cass 2 of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), are all being detained for 21 days now (today) without release or bail, according to a family source. Bai Lowe is alleged to be part of the insurgents who attacked the state house on 30 December, last year, who is said to be on the run. The source said the family is worried about the arrest and continued detention of their loved ones and especially the schooling of both Yusupha and Pa Alieu. He said they have made attempts to visit the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) office in Banjul to take clothes to them but were told that they are being held there. The source indicated the trauma that the detention is causing the family as access to them is denied and their whereabouts unknown. He said the family is calling on the authorities to release their loved ones including the boys who are now missing their classes. The trio was arrested in Lamin around 3pm on 1 January 2015 by men in plain clothes who claimed to have got their orders from the Office of the President and whisked away in a waiting vehicle with tinted glasses to an unknown destination. Their detention, however, has exceeded the 72 hours required by the 1997 Constitution of the Second Republic of the Gambia for the detention of a person without a court order.]]>