Story highlights All death row convicts will be executed by mid-September, president says 
 
 The West African nation last executed an inmate about 30 years ago 
 
 By the end of last year, it had 44 people on death row, rights group says 
 
 Gambia plans to execute all death row prisoners by September, the president said this week, sparking condemnation from human rights groups worldwide. Jammeh said in a televised address broadcast on Sunday evening and Monday to mark this year's Muslim feast of Eid-al-Fitr that the security forces and the judiciary will continue to be empowered to enforce the law where applicable. "All those guilty of serious crimes and are condemned will face the full force of the law," he said. "All punishments prescribed by law will be maintained in the country to ensure that criminals get what they deserve: that is, that those who kill are killed ... By the middle of next month, all the death sentences would have been carried out to the letter." Amnesty International condemned Jammeh's announced plans in a statement issued Tuesday, saying that the execution order "must not be acted on, and must be retracted." "President Jammeh’s comments are deeply troubling and will undoubtedly cause severe anguish to those on death row and their families,” said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International’s Africa director. “Any attempt to carry out this threat would be both deeply shocking and a major setback for human rights in Gambia." Gaughran said trials are notoriously unfair in Gambia and that "death sentences are known to be used as a tool against the political opposition." Jammeh, a former military officer who seized power in a 1994 coup, brooks no dissent in a country often blasted by rights bodies for abuses. Nominal civilian rule was restored two years later with a new constitution, but political opposition remained suppressed and Jammeh has won all elections since then.  Gambia to execute all death row prisoners by September 
 
 BANJUL — Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has told the people of his tiny west African nation that by the middle of September all those already sentenced to death for crimes will be executed. Justice authorities in the country, however, put the figure much higher, the news agency said. Jammeh made a similar threat to resume executions in 2009 that wasn't acted on, Amnesty observed, adding that this week's vow was nonetheless cause for alarm. British human rights advocates Reprieve denounced Jammeh's plan Wednesday and reissued an analysis by founder and legal director Clive Stafford Smith debunking the "myth" that the death penalty deters crime.
– Human rights groups are condemning President Yahya Jammeh for his vow to execute every death row prisoner in Gambia next month, breaking an almost 30-year hiatus on executions in the country. "All those guilty of serious crimes and are condemned will face the full force of the law," Jammeh said in a Sunday speech, reports the LA Times. Gambian trials are notoriously unfair, and death sentences are often handed out for "treason," meaning any opposition to Jammeh, CNN reports. Cocaine and heroin possession were also reportedly made capital crimes in 2010. It's unclear how many people are on death row; the AFP counts 47, but Gambian authorities say the number is much higher. "Any attempt to carry out this threat would be both deeply shocking and a major setback for human rights in Gambia," an Amnesty International official said. Gambia last executed a prisoner in 1985. Jammeh announced a similar mass execution in 2009, but never followed through.