Gambia

My intention to remain in my home country, to use my pen to correct injustice, and to champion press freedom was aborted by security threats that forced me and my family into exile. I left behind my beloved country and editorial desk in the hands of perpetrators.  

The unlawful detention of seven Gambian journalists since last Monday is serious cause for concern. These respected journalists were detained at the National Intelligence Agency headquarters in Banjul for "interrogation." They have been denied access by legal representation, family members, friends, or colleagues. On Thursday, they were charged with sedition for criticizing President Yahya Jammeh's televised comments about the unsolved 2004 murder of editor Deyda Hydara.

New York, June 18, 2009--A magistrate in the Gambian capital, Banjul, today charged seven journalists with sedition for criticizing President Yahya Jammeh's televised comments about the unsolved 2004 murder of editor Deyda Hydara, their defense lawyer said. Gambian security forces arrested an eighth journalist this morning, although no charges were immediately brought, according to the Gambian Press Union President Ndey Tapha Sosseh. 

New York, June 16, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for Gambia's national security agency to release seven journalists it arrested on Monday. The detainees include leaders of the country's press union and editors of newspapers that published a union press release criticizing President Yahya Jammeh's recent comments about the unsolved 2004 murder of editor Deyda Hydara. 

After receiving reports today of the arrest of seven senior Gambian journalists and press union leaders who criticized President Yahya Jammeh for remarks that bluntly refuted government involvement in the unsolved 2004 murder of an editor, we issued the following statement...

New York, June 12, 2009--The editor of a private newspaper in the Gambia has been in police custody since Wednesday because of a story that falsely reported the sacking of two government officials, according to local journalists.

Last week, President Yahya Jammeh, at left, discussed the unsolved 2004 murder case of editor Deyda Hydara in an interview on "One on One," a weekly program on The Gambia Radio and Television Service. The government "has for long been accused by the international community and so-called human rights organisations for the murder of Deyda Hydara, but we have no stake in this issue," media reports quoted Jammeh as saying. "And up to now one of these stupid Web sites carries 'Who Killed Deyda Hydara'? Let them go and ask Deyda Hydara who killed him," The Point newspaper quoted him as saying. 

Amnesty International paid special recognition last week to Ebrima B. Manneh, a Gambian journalist who has disappeared, at its prestigious annual Media Awards ceremony in London. As Amnesty International UK's campaigner for individuals at risk in Africa, I was thrilled to be present at the awards ceremony and to watch BBC News TV presenter Mishal Husain introduce a film clip about Manneh's tragic case in front of hundreds of world-class journalists and human rights activists.

May 2009

News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) leads a group of six senators to call for the immediate release of the former state Daily Observer newspaper, "Chief" Ebrima Manneh today. Colleagues at the newspaper say they witnessed two plainclothes Gambian National Intelligence Agency officers whisk Manneh, right, away in July 2006. He has not been seen since despite repeated calls to the government to disclose his whereabouts.