US citizens arrested for Gambian coup plot

Two US citizens of Gambian descent appeared in court on Monday charged with conspiring to overthrow the government of the West African nation. Prosecutors say that the two men, Papa Faal and Cherno Njie, traveled separately from Gambia to the United States to participate in the unrest there.

Both were arrested upon their return to the US for weapons violations and for breaking a law that makes it illegal to take military action in a country with whom the United States is at peace.

"The United States strongly condemns such conspiracies, " said Attorney General Eric Holder.

Last week an attempted coup against President Yahya Jammeh (pictured above) was quickly crushed while the president himself was out of the country. Jammeh blamed "terrorist groups" and claimed that the plotters had received support from foreign countries.

Faal told investigators that he joined a group of fighters of Gambian descent - who lived in the US and Germany last August - as he was concerned that elections were marred by corruption and out of distress for "the plight of the Gambian people." He admitted that the plan was originally to ambush the president's convoy, but they changed their plans when Jammeh left the country and attacked the State House instead.

After the group was defeated, Faal fled via ferry to neighboring Senegal where he turned himself in to officials at the US embassy. Prosecutors allege that Faal identified co-conspirator Njie, who was apprehended in Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC.

Faal and Njie's arrests come as dozens of military and civilian suspects were being held in the capital Banjul.

A last resort

Human rights activists have often criticized Jammeh's government for oppressing political opponents, journalists, and homosexuals. The US government recently took Gambia off a trade agreement in response to these abuses, which include a law from October that punishes some homosexual acts with life imprisonment.

Gambian-American activist Pasamba Jow spoke out in support of Njie to the Associated Press. "Even if what he's accused of were true, I think he was doing it for the sake of democracy in a country denied all legal avenues to change their government, " said Jow, a member of the Democratic Union of Gambian Activists.

"Every legal avenue has been taken and has been thwarted by Jammeh and his henchmen," Jow added. This has included approaching the European Union, the US Department of State, and the United Nations, according to Jow.

es/bk (AP, Reuters)