(JollofNews) – Victims of right abuses including torture, arbitrary arrest, prolong detention and extra-judicial killing by the previous Gambian regime of President Yahya Jammeh have formed an association to help advance their cause for justice.
The association, the Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations (GCVHRV) which is already registered as a non-profit organisation will be inaugurated on Wednesday at a ceremony in Kotu.
The association was formed following consultations with government officials, civic organisations, and other Non-Governmental Organisations.
President Yahya Jammeh ruled the small West African nation of less than two million with an iron fist for 22-years is living in exile in Equatorial Guinea after losing December 2016 election.
His regime was criticised by right groups including Human Rights Watch of carrying out enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture, and other human rights violations.
It was also accused of routinely targeting voices of dissent, including journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and critics, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
The right groups said consistent patterns of violations… have created a broader climate of fear that extends to other sections of society, in which the dominant response is one of self-censorship.