Activists in The Gambia have delivered a petition to the United States embassy in the country calling for a thorough investigation into the police killing of the son of a retired Gambian diplomat in the US state of Georgia. The petition urges the US government to release body camera footage showing the fatal shooting of Momodou Lamin Sisay late last month during an attempted traffic stop in the town of Snellville. Georgia police said in a preliminary report that Sissay, 39, flashed a gun at the officers, prompting them to shoot. Sisay opened fire at police during the exchange, according to the report. Jobarteh said he and other activists planned to hold a rally in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement when coronavirus restrictions allowed. The delivery of the petition came nearly a week after The Gambia’s foreign affairs ministry said it had asked its embassy in Washington, DC to “engage the relevant US authorities including the State Department to seek a transparent, credible and objective investigation in the matter”. The embassy has since sent two representatives to Georgia, according to a family friend of Sisay.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA