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Alert

Intelligence agents interrogate murdered editor's partner

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has voiced amazement after Pap Saine, co-owner of "The Point" newspaper and partner of murdered journalist Deyda Hydara, was interrogated on 17 March 2005 at the headquarters of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in Banjul, as a suspect in Hydara's murder. Saine was questioned at length about the newspaper's management and tax situation.

"Deyda Hydara's killers are still at large, but the Gambian intelligence services find nothing better to do than treat his partner with suspicion," RSF said.

"It is not just a waste of time, it is shameful to harass 'The Point''s co-owner," the organisation continued. "We find this behaviour all the more astounding as it is not the first time the security forces have gone through ['The Point''s] files rather than following up on more obvious leads. If they wanted to create a diversion or try to discourage Pap Saine and push him into closing 'The Point', this would be the way to go about it."

At about midday on 17 March, NIA agents went to the offices of "The Point" to question Saine, but the journalist was not there. After being informed of their visit, Saine went to NIA headquarters shortly after 2:00 p.m. (local time), where he was interrogated for about an hour by three agents. The agents asked him to produce various administrative documents, including the newspaper's 1991 operating licence, the original of his partnership agreement with Hydara's wife and his income tax statements. They also asked him if he had had any arguments with Hydara, which he vigorously denied. The agents demanded that he return the next day with the administrative documents and that he ensure the company's pending taxes were paid by the end of March.

In mid-January, the police had summoned Saine in a similar fashion and interrogated him for an entire morning about the management of "The Point", insisting that he produce bank statements. They said at the time they were investigating the possibility that Hydara's murder had been ordered by a Nigerian businessman - the newspaper's supplier - in an alleged settling of scores. This theory was shown to be absurd when Saine proved to the officers the supplier was in fact a Gambian.