Banjul, Gambia - Gambia has arrested a British missionary couple and a prosecutor charged them on Thursday with distributing "seditious" reports about the West African country.
Fiona and David Fulton, who have lived in the former British colony for nine years, were paraded on state television late on Wednesday then charged in a Banjul court on Thursday.
The prosecution accused the couple of writing letters to individuals and organisations abroad to "bring into hatred or contempt, to excite disaffection against the President of the Republic and the government of the Gambia."
The couple pleaded not guilty and have been granted bail of 125,000 pounds each but the authorities have seized their travel documents and ordered them to report to the police daily.
The case has been adjourned until December 16. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was providing consular support but refused to give any further details.
The couple first visited Gambia as tourists, but later returned as missionaries, the website of the Westhoughton Pentecostal Church near Bolton said.
David became the chaplain for the Gambian army and Fiona was in charge of the chaplaincy at the airport.
The website said in recent years David had trained army chaplains and worked in a remote ministry accessible only by boat while his wife looked after the terminally ill.
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, who believes he has herbal treatments that can cure AIDS, has tolerated little dissent since he seized power in a 1994 military coup in mainland Africa's smallest country.