Six Court Martial Convicts File Appeal

By Kebba Jeffang Foroyaa has been informed by a source at the National Agency for Legal Aid (NALA) that all the six military personnel who were convicted by a Court Martial on 30 March 2015 and sentenced to death and or life imprisonment have now filed an appeal against their conviction at the Gambia Court of Appeal.This was disclosed to this reporter by one of the lawyers at NALA, who represented some of the accused persons at the Court Martial which was not opened to the media for coverage. The source said the appeal was filed since 2nd April, 2015 with the view to overturn the military tribunal’s verdict. “We are challenging both the death and life sentences passed. It is the right of the accused persons to appeal any court decision at the court of appeal. Even at the Supreme Court level, there is a procedure of ‘review’ of any decision it passes. All these rights are given to the accused persons,” added the source. On the legal representation for the convicts, the source noted that they have the right to opt for any lawyer of their choice to represent them at the appeal courts or continue with the lawyers provided by NALA. On when the appeal process will commence, the source said it depends on the court as it has a procedure to follow.]]>