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Background
Why were David and Fiona arrested?
David and Fiona were arrested on charges of sedition and of inciting hatred against the Gambian President and people. They were charged on the basis of emails and correspondence to friends and supporters in the UK, which contained comments that were deemed provocative and offensive.
After initially stating their intention to plead not guilty to these charges, David and Fiona eventually pleaded guilty, were sentenced to twelve months’ hard labour and were each fined the equivalent of £6,300. According to reports, the couple had changed their plea on the advice of their Gambian lawyer in the hope of receiving more lenient sentences. David was subsequently sentenced to three additional years for forgery. He had pleaded guilty once again, after being assured he would only receive a fine.
David and Fiona have acknowledged that, in some of their emails to friends and supporters outside of the Gambia, they may have made comments without sufficient consideration of their impact they. David’s sense of humour is legendarily dry, and in his emails he would often try to soften the impact of difficult or worrying news by making fun either of himself or of a situation. Realising that some of their comments were, at best, extremely unwise, the Fultons prepared an apology to the Gambian president, government, security services and people “for having written things that we now realise were completely inappropriate and very hurtful to His Excellency The President, his family and the government. We are very, very sorry that we have caused offence not only to His Excellency but also to the people of [Gambia] whom we have tried to serve for nearly 10 years. We certainly had no intention to [cause] hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the President or the Government of the Gambia.”
Is the media coverage accurate?
Some of it is, while some is not.
There has been some confusion about David’s military career. This is because at the beginning of the trial a British journalist mistakenly assumed David had gained the title of “Major” during his time with the British army when, in reality, he had remained a non-commissioned officer. The title of Major was in fact an honorary one given to him by the Gambian Army when he was made a chaplain. The humanitarian and Christian work undertaken by the Fultons is well documented and much of it is supported by accounts from eyewitnesses who insist that the recent media portrayal of David as boastful and swaggering bears little resemblance to reality.
One journal almost implied that the Fultons had purchased a luxury yacht. In reality, part of their work involved regularly travelling with provisions to remote areas accessible only by river estuaries that were difficult to negotiate. To facilitate this, the Fulton’s UK supporters raised funds for the purchase of a second-hand vessel with a steel hull and a shallow draught that was adequate for this purpose, rather than luxurious.
On the other hand, several media reports have highlighted David’s past criminal activities. He has always openly admitted his past and freely speaks of how his life was totally transformed by becoming a Christian. | 
