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British missionaries sentenced to one year of hard labour
by Scott Gilbreath ~ December 30th, 2008
David and Fiona Fulton have each been sentenced to a year’s hard labour by a court in The Gambia, West Africa. The Fultons, who have three children including a two-year-old adopted daughter, were charged with sedition over e-mail correspondence in which they criticised President Yahya Jammeh and the influence of Islam in the tiny country.
The judge quoted from an email sent in September, entitled “Hell In The Gambia,” in which the country, which is 97 per cent Muslim, is described as “sinking fast into a morass of Islam”. The couple face imprisonment at the country’s high-security Mile Two jail. It houses some of the state’s toughest inmates – including some women. Malaria and beriberi are reported to be prevalent there.
[…]
“I found the offences of the accused party to be very shocking. They have shown no respect for the country, the government and the president of the republic. I will send a clear message to the offenders,” he [presiding magistrate Idrissa Mba] said. He also imposed fines of £6,250 on each of the defendants.
The Fultons sent the e-mails to friends at churches in Britain. It is believed that the e-mails were brought to the attention of Gambian police by a Gambian person connected to one of the churches.
Mr Fulton, 60, and Mrs Fulton, 46, have lived in The Gambia for 12 years. When arrested late last month, they maintained their innocence, but later decided to plead guilty in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence.
The judge refused to grant bail while they consider a possible appeal. The Fultons have been in custody since their arrest.
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January 1st, 2009 at 08:03 AM
I hope that the Gambian guy who reported this couple to his country’s corrupt authorities is deported from the UK immediately.
January 5th, 2009 at 08:10 PM
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