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Gambia News
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Update: Missionary couple sentenced to hard labour
David Fulton (60) and his wife Fiona (46), British missionaries who were arrested on charges of sedition in late November in Gambia (click here for more), were sentenced on December 30 to one year of hard labour in prison and fined 250,000 Dalasis (approximately $11,500 CAD). They had pleaded guilty to the charges in the hope that they would receive a lighter sentence. Gambia's president, Yahya Jammeh, however, is known for cracking down on any perceived criticism of him or his government. According to Glenn Penner, VOMC's CEO, "It is not a crime to criticize a government. In the 21st century, this type of repression is ludicrous. The charges brought against the Fultons say more about the government than they do about the couple." The couple has been sent to the notoriously severe Mile Two Prison to carry out their sentences. At last report, their two-year-old adopted daughter was being cared for by friends.
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Missionary couple arrested
David Fulton (60) and his wife Fiona (46), British missionaries who have been working in Gambia for 12 years, were arrested for sedition on November 29. The couple were paraded on state television and subsequently charged on December 4 with writing letters that criticized the country and for publishing and distributing materials "with the intent to bring into hatred or contempt, to excite disaffection against the President or the Government of Gambia." David and Fiona pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case was adjourned until December 16. Sources close to the Fultons maintain that the couple desires only to spread the Good News and that David's work as chaplain to the Gambian Army and Fiona's care of the terminally ill is not political. At last report, the Fultons were unable to secure bail and remained in detention. David is being held at the high security Mile Two prison while Fiona and their two-year-old adopted daughter are in custody at a police station in Gambia's capital, Banjul.
Pray that the charges brought against the couple will be dropped. Ask God to give them strength and health while in detention. Pray that they will rest in the knowledge that the Good Shepherd walks with them through this difficult time (Psalm 23).
