A/HRC/28/68/Add.4 Violence Act and the Sexual Offences Act were enacted in December 2013. However, female genital mutilation has yet to be prohibited and is still practised in the country, particularly in rural areas. The Government has undertaken a public campaign on female genital mutilation, but the message may not be uniform regarding the need to abolish the practice. A proposed bill on the prohibition of female genital mutilation would criminalize the practice. It should be a priority for the National Assembly. Violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons 93. In an overall context of State-sponsored violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that an amendment to the Criminal Code, signed into law by the President on 9 October 2014, on “aggravated homosexuality” subjects such persons to even greater risk of torture and ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur received reports that the National Intelligence Agency had sought to arrest and detain individuals believed to be homosexual, including after group round-ups of up to 16 persons, who were subjected to violent attacks, humiliation and arbitrary arrest.29 At least three individuals have been detained for weeks during “investigations” and are reported to have been tortured. Threats against journalists and human rights defenders 94. On the basis of meetings and interviews with representatives of civil society, the Special Rapporteur found that there was a State practice of intimidation and serious threats, including death threats, to the physical integrity of journalists and human rights defenders that amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture. Irregular migrants and refugees 95. The Special Rapporteur met with several refugee leaders from Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Togo who had been beaten during interrogation at an unofficial detention facility, then arrested and sent to Mile 2 Central Prison for writing a letter to the President about the neglect and deplorable conditions suffered by refugees in the Gambia.30 Individuals vulnerable to reprisals 96. The Special Rapporteur observed an atmosphere of apprehension and even genuine fear among many victims, witnesses and interlocutors, who said that meeting with him could result in intimidation or more serious consequences. The Special Rapporteur sought and received from the Government “assurances that no persons, official or private individuals who have been in contact with the Special Rapporteur … in relation to the mandate will for this reason suffer threats, harassment or punishment or be subjected to judicial proceedings”.31 After the visit, the Special Rapporteur received information that some individuals who were no longer living in the Gambia were reportedly being tracked down by government authorities. It was difficult to verify this information, but the Special Rapporteur received information from Senegal concerning one such case that he considered credible. 29 30 31 Press statement by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 20 November 2014. Available from www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/91C731B27611821EC1257D960 0438CDB?OpenDocument. Letter to the President from the Gambia Refugees Community Leadership, 29 April 2011. E/CN.4/1998/45, annex, appendix V, subpara. (c). 17