Gambia: Breaking News: Gambia Detains Guinean On Terrorism Charges!
 Gambia Detains Guinean On Terrorism Charges!
Accused Of Propagating Egyptian Revolutionary Ideas By By: Deena Abdelmonem Mouctar Diallo, an American University in Cairo graduate student in political science and anthropology/sociology, was arrested in the Gambian capital of Banjul on April 30, 2011 where he was conducting fieldwork for his master’s theses. After months of subsequent house arrest and constant monitoring by the Gambian police, he was formally called in for questioning on June 28, 2011 by the Gambian authorities under suspicions of terrorism and spreading revolutionary ideas inspired by the recent Egyptian protests.
The Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA) confiscated his personal and academic material including books, fieldnotes, his bag, and his laptop, the contents of which may have initially prompted the authorities’ suspicions.
Diallo, a native of Guinea, has not been able to be reached by family or colleagues since his confinement on June 28. After he was initially under suspicion in April, AUC students and faculty members including Diallo’s thesis advisor, the graduate program coordinator, the department chair, and the dean of social sciences and humanities reached out to the Gambian authorities explaining that he was a student conducting research endorsed by the university. However, the Gambian authorities were not convinced. According to Phillip Rizk, former AUC graduate and a colleague of Diallo, the nature of Diallo’s fieldnotes and studies alarmed Gambian authorities when they searched his belongings. Rizk states, “Diallo’s books with critical views of the state and Marxist ideology did not go over well with the authorities. His presence and research activities were questioned and Mr. Diallo was put under investigation by the Gambian National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Charges revolve around Mr. Diallo being ‘a threat to national security.’” Rizk also explains, “Gambian authorities still consider him a threat to national security; they suspect him of sowing seeds of a revolution because of his literature and the time he has spent in Egypt as a student at AUC.”
A number of campaigns including a Facebook page and a Twitter hashtag have been established to release Diallo from prison and fight for his innocence. Diallo, an activist himself, has been involved in a similar cause that mirrors his current situation when his friend and colleague Phillip Rizk was detained by Egyptian police for his activism regarding the closure of the Gaza border back in 2008. Joseph Hill, assistant professor of anthropology at AUC, established the Facebook page when Diallo called him to inform him of his situation as of the events that took place on June 28. He states, “Mouctar told me on the day he was taken in by the NIA (June 28th) that he would contact me if they allowed him to (do so) on the 30th, but that if we didn’t hear from him we could assume they had decided to lock him up without a lawyer or communication. Since then no one has heard anything from him.” After he was arrested on June 28, authorities told Diallo that he risked getting charged for terrorism after 48 hours of investigation. Dr. Hill explains, “(Terrorism), of course, is a blanket term that most authoritarian regimes use to describe anyone who poses a political threat to them, whether they have a violent ideology or not because (authorities) thought he was trying to spread revolution from Egypt to the Gambia.” Diallo is currently unable to find a lawyer due rumors stating that he is a “dangerous terrorist” according to the Facebook page. According to Philip Rizk, “The 48 hour period passed the night of June 30th and since then, myself and a number of professors at the American University in Cairo have been trying to find any means to put pressure on the Gambian authorities to release Mouctar or release information on his case. We have not heard from Mouctar since, or obtained any further information.” Background Information Mouctar Diallo is a graduate student in Political Science and Anthropology/Sociology at the American University in Cairo and a Guinean National. He was arrested on April 30, 2011, three days after arriving in the Gambia to continue anthropological research he had begun ...in the Gambia the previous semester and had continued in his home country of Guinea. He spent over a week being questioned in jail and then was effectively under house arrest until June 28th, when the Gambian National Intelligence Agency (NIA) called him in again for questioning and told him they were making a case to prosecute him as a terrorist. They accused him of spreading Egyptian revolutionary ideas to Gambia. Since then, no one has been able to reach him.
On April 30, 2011, shortly after arriving in Serekunda, Gambia, Mouctar was walking in front of a building where UN officials resided, where police were investigating a break-in that had occurred the previous night. They stopped him and searched his bag and his pockets then had him bring them back to the guest house where he was staying. They were suspicious of the books and field notes they found there and arrested him, jailing him in Kairaba police station until May 9th. They confiscated his computer, his notes, his phone, and many other possessions and pored over what they found to make a case against him. Also, boxes containing his books that he was having a driver move from Conakry to Serekunda were confiscated when they arrived at customs because, again, officials reportedly were suspicious of the contents of the books. After a week and a half, he was released on bail but kept effectively under house arrest, being constantly watched in a property the police had set him up in.
After Mouctar contacted friends and university faculty back in Cairo, the American University in Cairo faxed a letter signed by Mouctar's thesis advisor, the graduate program coordinator, the department chair, and the dean of social sciences and humanities explaining that he was a student in good standing conducting university-funded research. Gambian authorities were still not convinced. Mouctar tried to work with more than one lawyer who dropped his case, apparently because they were told he was a dangerous terrorist.
All this while the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) periodically called him in for questioning, repeatedly telling him they would soon issue a report determining whether he could be allowed to stay and finish his research or would be deported. Toward the end of June the questioning became increasingly harsh, with increasingly wild accusations and threats of torture by electric shock, and Mouctar began to worry that he would disappear without a trace. They accused him of being a "terrorist" and of fomenting an Egypt-style revolution.
On June 28, he met with the officer in charge of his case to get an update on his case and inquire about getting his possessions back. His fears were confirmed when the officer told him that the NIA would keep him under their custody for the next 48 hours for questioning and that afterwards they would likely try him as a terrorist. We spoke with Mouctar that day just before he was to go in for questioning. He was worried that they may never let him out again, and he told us that if they let him out after the 48-hour period he would contact us immediately. But if he did not contact us we should assume they had imprisoned him and were moving forward with the terrorism case. Although he had hesitated to draw attention to a case that had looked like it might be dismissed at any moment, at this point he said he would welcome any intervention on his behalf. ...in the Gambia the previous semester and had continued in his home country of Guinea. He spent over a week being questioned in jail and then was effectively under house arrest until June 28th, when the Gambian National Intelligence Agency (NIA) called him in again for questioning and told him they were making a case to prosecute him as a terrorist. They accused him of spreading Egyptian revolutionary ideas to Gambia. Since then, no one has been able to reach him. On April 30, 2011, shortly after arriving in Serekunda, Gambia, Mouctar was walking in front of a building where UN officials resided, where police were investigating a break-in that had occurred the previous night. They stopped him and searched his bag and his pockets then had him bring them back to the guest house where he was staying. They were suspicious of the books and field notes they found there and arrested him, jailing him in Kairaba police station until May 9th. They confiscated his computer, his notes, his phone, and many other possessions and pored over what they found to make a case against him. Also, boxes containing his books that he was having a driver move from Conakry to Serekunda were confiscated when they arrived at customs because, again, officials reportedly were suspicious of the contents of the books. After a week and a half, he was released on bail but kept effectively under house arrest, being constantly watched in a property the police had set him up in. After Mouctar contacted friends and university faculty back in Cairo, the American University in Cairo faxed a letter signed by Mouctar's thesis advisor, the graduate program coordinator, the department chair, and the dean of social sciences and humanities explaining that he was a student in good standing conducting university-funded research. Gambian authorities were still not convinced. Mouctar tried to work with more than one lawyer who dropped his case, apparently because they were told he was a dangerous terrorist. All this while the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) periodically called him in for questioning, repeatedly telling him they would soon issue a report determining whether he could be allowed to stay and finish his research or would be deported. Toward the end of June the questioning became increasingly harsh, with increasingly wild accusations and threats of torture by electric shock, and Mouctar began to worry that he would disappear without a trace. They accused him of being a "terrorist" and of fomenting an Egypt-style revolution. On June 28, he met with the officer in charge of his case to get an update on his case and inquire about getting his possessions back. His fears were confirmed when the officer told him that the NIA would keep him under their custody for the next 48 hours for questioning and that afterwards they would likely try him as a terrorist. We spoke with Mouctar that day just before he was to go in for questioning. He was worried that they may never let him out again, and he told us that if they let him out after the 48-hour period he would contact us immediately. But if he did not contact us we should assume they had imprisoned him and were moving forward with the terrorism case. Although he had hesitated to draw attention to a case that had looked like it might be dismissed at any moment, at this point he said he would welcome any intervention on his behalf. Since then no one has heard from him or been able to reach him. If you have suggestions for people who might be able to help with this unjust case, please let us know. Thank you. |
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