26 April 2006

TWO JOURNALISTS RELEASED, NEWSPAPER ALLOWED TO PUBLISH


On 20 April 2006, Gambian journalists Musa Saidykhan and Madi Ceesay were released from detention after having being held without explanation for close to a month, reported the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Saidykhan and Ceesay, who work for the private newspaper "The Independent", had been detained since 28 March, apparently in connection with a 24 March article that named people who had been arrested for participating in an alleged coup attempt (see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/73665/).

Gambian authorities also told the newspaper's staff that they could return to their offices in Banjul, which had been closed for a month. The newspaper hopes to resume publishing on 28 April.

However, a third journalist, Lamin Fatty, who was arrested on 10 April, remains in detention without charge. Under Gambian law, detainees held without charges should only be held for a maximum of 72 hours.

According to CPJ, Fatty had incorrectly reported that former Interior Minister Samba Bah, who is also a former head of the National Intelligence Agency, was among those arrested in the wake of a purported coup attempt. The paper subsequently published Bah's response and its own apology.

Speaking from New York, where he is living in exile, "The Independent's" managing editor, Alagi Jallow, said there is still a great need for international pressure in this case, with Fatty still in jail.

To write a letter urging Fatty's immediate release, see: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.php?pid=33&aid=458

For updates on the case, visit IFEX: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/54/

Visit these links:
- MFWA: http://www.mfwaonline.org/en/updates/details.php?objID=0206
- CJFE: http://www.cjfe.org/releases/2006/20042006gambia.html
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/africa/gambia24apr06na.html
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16923


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Also from the Communiqué, 27 April 2006

TUNISIA: FREE EXPRESSION STILL UNDER SIEGE 26 April 2006 NEPAL: JOURNALISTS AT FOREFRONT OF PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTESTS 26 April 2006 CHINA: IFEX MEMBERS URGE RELEASE OF DETAINED REPORTER 26 April 2006 MEXICO: MEDIA LAW REFORMS HAILED 26 April 2006 INTERNATIONAL: SEAPA CONFERENCE TACKLES FREE EXPRESSION AND THE INTERNET IN ASIA 26 April 2006 IRAQ: SLAIN IRAQI REPORTER HONOURED WITH OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB AWARD 1 May 2006

The Gambia

Police chief says long-missing journalist is in the US 23 May 2012 Former minister gets life imprisonment for demanding an end to the dictatorship 19 January 2012 Newspaper journalist charged with criminal defamation 12 January 2012 Authorities fail to find editor's killers after seven years 16 December 2011 On election day, president displays contempt for press freedom 29 November 2011 See all alerts: The Gambia


West Africa

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Jailed opposition figure transferred to isolated cell; attorney suspended 25 May 2012 MALI: Three weeks of media freedom violations 24 May 2012 LIBERIA: Reporter suspended from university for reporting on campus conflicts 22 May 2012 EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Opposition figure wrongly convicted 8 May 2012


 
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