Gambian Missionaries Imprisoned for Insult

A British missionary couple has been sentenced to a year's hard labor in one of Africa's toughest prisons for calling the despotic president of Gambia "a madman" in an email, reports the Times of London. The parents of three apologized for the insult, hoping for leniency.

“They have shown no respect for the country, the government and the president of the republic," said the judge, who meted out the maximum sentence. "I will send a clear message to the offenders." Amnesty International has condemned the inhumane conditions at the prison where the couple will serve their sentence.