Banjul - As the Gambia marks its 50th year of independence on Wednesday, critics say the milestone is tainted by the dismal human rights record of an increasingly isolated regime.
President Yahya Jammeh, an outspoken military officer and former wrestler, has ruled the former British colony with an iron fist since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1994.
The regime of the man who says he can cure Aids is often berated for human rights abuses, enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, torture and the muzzling of journalists.