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A British missionary couple was arrested in the West African nation of Gambia and charged Thursday with distributing “seditious” reports about the government.
David Fulton, 60, and his wife Fiona, 46, were accused of writing letters to foreign individuals and organizations to “bring into hatred or contempt, to excite disaffection against the President of the Republic and the government of the Gambia,” according to Reuters.
The couple – who has been living in the former British colony for 12 years – pleaded not guilty and was reportedly offered bail of $184,000 each, which they were unable to pay, reported the London-based Times newspaper. Gambian authorities have seized the missionaries’ travel documents and told them to report to the police every day.
“The work he (David) is doing is not political,” insists Pastor Martin Speed of Westhoughton Pentecostal Church, a church in Bolton, England, that the couple is linked to.
“He’s sharing his Christian faith with people,” the minister told the Times.
Over a decade ago, the Fultons visited Gambia as tourists, but later came back as missionaries.
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David was for a time the chaplain of the Gambian army and Fiona headed the chaplaincy at the airport.
Later, David trained army chaplains and worked in a remote ministry while his wife cared for the terminally ill. He also helped established the Gambia branch of Prison Fellowship International.
Gambia, an overwhelmingly Muslim country (90 percent), is ruled under the iron fist of President Yahya Jammeh, who came to power through a bloodless military coup in 1994.
Jammeh is known to not tolerate dissent and opposition activists receive death threats and are regularly arrested, beaten and jailed without charge, according to rights groups. He is also known for his eccentric personality and in recent years claimed to possess a secret herbal cure for AIDS.
“There does seem to be a growing difficulty of Christians in the country of Gambia,” commented Pastor Speed in England.
The hearing of the Fultons’ case has been postponed until Dec. 16 and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has refused to provide additional details.
According to reports, David Fulton is on a hunger strike and his friends in England are worried about his health.
