Film on how Gambian activists ousted Jammeh premieres in London

Former Gambian president, Yahya Jammeh, may have left office over a year now but news about him still command a lot of attention.

Jammeh in a recently-leaked tape talks of staging a comeback to the country he ruled for over two decades until January 2017.

His mothers’ death this week in exile and the subsequent repatriation of her remains to the Gambia for burial has also dominated local media in the last seven days.

Calls for justice for the excesses of his regime also continue to make the headlines every now and then.

The latest Jammeh-linked development is a 30-minute documentary detailing the efforts that human rights defenders invested in ensuring his reign came to an end via the democratic process.

The film, We Never Gave Up: Stories of Courage in Gambia, will be premiered in London on Monday, 13 August 2018. It was produced by Louise Hunt and Jason Fabio for international rights group, Amnesty International.

“This thirty minute documentary highlights the testimony of those Human Rights Defenders, men and women that decided to take a stand for human rights during the Jammeh era. The film describes their fears, their frustrations and their motivations,” the promotional text of the film reads.

“This story of Gambian Human Rights Defenders is a story of courage, story of resistance, a story of brave people that firmly believe in human rights and that are able to fight and risk their lives for them.”

The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with experts including Amnesty International’s West Africa researcher Sabrina Mahtani, filmmaker Louise Hunt, Gambian activist Yusef Taylor of UK Gambia and chaired by Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Global Issues and Head of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Makmid Kamara.

Date and Time: Mon, August 13, 2018; 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM BST

Location: 71a Gallery, 71 Leonard Street, London, EC2A 4QX, United Kingdom