Banjul, Gambia: A member of The Gambia's main opposition has died in state custody, the United Democratic Party (UDP) said, in a case that sparked UN, US and French demands for an inquiry.
The death, the second such case in five months, comes just months ahead of polls expected to land President Yahya Jammeh a fifth term in office.
Local party official Ebrima Solo Kurumah, who was detained in May during a rare protest, died in hospital on Sunday, a day after he underwent surgery, the UDP said on Monday.
"We went to the mortuary... and confirmed the death of Ebrima Solo Kurumah," party president Dembo Bojang told AFP.
The party will make sure "a post-mortem is conducted by the doctors before his body is handed over to the family for burial," he added.
Neither activists nor Kurumah's family had been given any information about his medical state and were "repeatedly denied access to him throughout his stay in state custody," the UDP said.
- Government blamed for death -
Kurumah had been hospitalised on August 8, it said, quoting unofficial sources.
The party blamed the government for the death, accusing it of "intentionally inflicting bodily harm and then steadfastly withhold urgent lifesaving medical interventions."
Prominent opposition activist Solo Sandeng died in custody this April, triggering protests at which UDP leader Ousainou Darboe was arrested.
Darboe and about 30 other co-accused were sentenced to three years in jail last month over that demonstration.
The United Nations, the United States and France separately voiced concern at the deaths and urged them to be probed by a neutral inquiry.
"We urge the authorities to investigate the death in State custody of Mr. Sandeng and Mr. Kurumah as well as allegations that detainees are denied access to medical care," Cecile Pouilly, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said.
"We remain troubled by reports of the Gambian government's continued mistreatment of detained opposition figures, as evidenced by recent deaths and allegations of torture," deputy spokesman Mark Toner said at the US State Department.
In Paris, the French foreign ministry also urged the release of political prisoners and said allegations of torture were "particularly worrying."
Jammeh, who came to power in a 1994 coup, rules The Gambia with an iron fist.
Presidential elections are scheduled for December.
His regime is regularly accused by rights groups of arranging the forcible disappearance of opponents.
He has blasted the UN and Amnesty International for demanding an investigation into Sandeng's death, saying they could "go to hell".
AFP
