Gambian authorities have freed 98 prisoners, mostly from the notorious Mile 2 prison, an interior ministry spokesman said on Friday, as the country seeks to turn a new leaf on the authoritarian era of ousted former president Yahya jammeh.
The release comes just two weeks after 170 others were freed.
The Gambia’s new President Adama Barrow was sworn in last month after the ouster of the now-exiled Jammeh, who had refused to step aside following his defeat in the December 1 election.
Barrow replaced the head of the military, seen as a major player in Jammeh’s government, and dismissed several senior military officers.
The former head of prisons was arrested.
Rights groups say Jammeh’s opponents were tortured, and some died, in detention centres including the Mile 2 Central Prison in Banjul.
