ON WHY DR. JANNEH SHOULD BE UNCONDITIONALLY RELEASED IMMEDIATELY:

KAYJATTA

The First Amendment lawyer, Floyd Abrams stated that; "we don't need free speech for a lot of speech in society. We need free speech most of all to protect people who say and do unpopular things...unpopular with the government, or unpopular with the public at large".
Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. also stated that "...the principle of the constitution is the principle of free thought, not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for those whose thoughts we hate".
These two quotes above are very instructive, and should be the guiding light for freedom of expression in all free societies.
The late Isaac Asimov, the celebrated scientist, novelist and poet; wrote about a mathematician by the name Pochik who suspected his colleague to have stolen and taken credit for his groundbreaking work. The only way this could have been done would be to know Pochik's password, but Pochik insisted that it was impossible for anyone to break the code to his 14-letter password. In short, the great mathematician, Pochik demanded an investigation into how his password could have been discovered by his rival mathematician; but he (Pochik) would not tell the investigators what his password was. He wanted them to recreate the password and then provide the explanation of how someone could have cracked the code. This (Pochik's dilema) was similar to the story of the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar and the three Wise Men. The King had a terribly scary dream, and called the Wise Men of his kingdom for an interpretation of the dream. The problem was that the King has forgotten the dream; all he knew was that it was a scary one. He therefore demanded the Wise Men to recreate the dream and then give the interpretation, failing which they will all be executed.
It is very true that President Jammeh of the Gambia operates pretty much like the Babylonian King. In the cases of the former police chief, Inspector Ensa Badji; the former Army Chief of Defense Staff, General Lang Tombong Tamba; and now the former Communications Secretary (Minister), Dr. Janneh among many others; the Gambian leader, as the State-run newspaper the Daily Observer fundly calls him, badly needed an interpretation of his fears, but did not have a story. Therefore, he summoned his Wise men-the NIA (National Intelligence Agency), NDEA (National Drug Enforcement Agency), and the GPF (Gambia Police Force) to create one.
This trump up charges against Dr. Janneh, a made up story by the Gambia's security forces is so wobbly-so groundless- that it is laughable. There is not a single thing in all of their allegations that is illegal. "printing and distribution of T-shirts, End to Dictatorship, and Freedom" are all legally protected speech because they  express a state of  mind. The purpose of a constitutionally-guaranteed free expression is not for speech that we all like-such as the letters of "appreciation" that fill the pages of the Daily Observer every day. The purpose of free expression is to protect expressions that the government or the general society may dislike. Free expression is critical to creativity and economic development. The allegations of "clandestine and subversive" acts are nothing but myth rooted in the autocratic thought of the Jammeh regime. Dr. Janneh, by his words and actions, did not incite violence. He did not procure any weapons, no stock piles of weapons were found in his possession, and no revolutionary literature was found associated with him. Therefore, all that Dr. Janneh should get is perhaps a speeding ticket since his vehicle was allegedly running at "top speed". T-shirts with the words "End to Dictatorship", and "Freedom", did not add up to a crime anywhere in the world. The violence in the Middle-East and North Africa that Jammeh is using as an excuse to root out potential uprising was started by the oppressive regimes in those countries, not by the peaceful legitimate protesters.
The worst that Dr. Janneh may have committed could be an attempted instigation of mass protest against the government or government policies. But again that would be perfectly legal. Mass protests against the government are protected by the law. Citizens have a right not only to speak out against the government, but also to petition and protest against the government.
The Gambia opposition parties, if they want to be credible in the eyes of Gambians, must add their voice and if necessary flex their muscle also to redirect political socialization in the country. Silence perpetuates impunity.
I have to appeal to the Gambian courts again. The courts-the judiciary- is that finest branch of government that Madison (one of America's Founding Fathers) called the least tyrannical and the least dangerous. The Gambian courts must stand up to the true meaning of their creed and rule against these frivolous cases. The courts must rid the Gambia of all the trappings of autocracy. But I am aware that the concept of a "Gambia judiciary" may be a fallacy in the true sense of the word, because the Gambia governments-past and present (but even worse in the present) has out-sourced our legal system to Nigeria. Nigerian judges of dubious personal character are in control of the Gambia courts....
Notwithstanding, the Gambian courts are hereby urged to throw out this case against Dr. Janneh for lack of merit....