The Gambia’s Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission will resume sitting on Monday June 10 after a month’s break due to Ramadan.

A press statement from the secretariat states that:

“The TRRC will resume hearings with the opening of its fifth three-week session on Monday, June 10. During this session the Commission will continue hearing testimonies from witnesses and victims of the 1996 UDP encounter with security forces at Denton Bridge and the November 11 and Koro Ceesay incidents.

“The Commission plans to hold its first institutional hearing on the media during this fifth session, which runs from Monday, June 10 to Thursday, June 27.”

“While the Commission was on break from hearings, the TRRC offices remained open and Commissioners and staff continued to be engaged in work-related activities. Among other things, the Research and Investigations Unit continued their engagement with victims, witnesses and alleged perpetrators to further investigate allegations made in statements received, interviews, or the oral testimony of witnesses during past public hearings.

“The unit also served notices of adverse mention to certain individuals as directed by the legal team. Interns of the unit embarked on the usual media review to assist the commission in uncovering human rights violations committed from 1994 to 2017 by gathering and analysing newspaper articles on such violations.

“The Unit is currently working with the Gambia Press Union to facilitate our first institutional hearing on the media while conducting research on certain public institutions as part of preparations for other institutional hearings.”

The TRRC was set up in 2017 to investigate alleged human rights abuses and atrocities committed during the 22 year rule of former president Yahya Jammeh.