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Alert

Missing journalist reportedly arrested by National Intelligence Agency; newspaper censored

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 11 July 2006, Chief Ebrima B. Manneh, a reporter for the pro-government newspaper "Daily Observer", was arrested and detained by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) of The Gambia.

According to an MFWA-The Gambia source, the NIA has not given any reason for the journalist's arrest and his subsequent detention at the NIA Headquarters in Banjul.

Journalists working with the "Daily Observer" have been denied editorial independence since Amadou Samba, a close associate of President Jammeh, bought the newspaper from its founder, the deported Liberian journalist Kenneth Best. Best was deported soon after Jammeh came to power in a 1994 military coup for alleged criticism of the regime.

Sources at the "Daily Observer" have said that government officials consistently plant stories and remove those deemed critical of the government. "Journalists who object to the censorship acts are seen as opposition elements and threatened with dismissals or imprisonment," the source added.

BACKGROUND:
Since the government announced a foiled coup attempt in March 2006, it has arrested a number of journalists. Malick Mboob, formerly of the "Daily Observer", has been detained since 26 May 2006. Lamin Fatty, a reporter for "The Independent" newspaper, is facing trial for allegedly publishing false information, after being detained for 63 days without charge.

Musa Saidykhan, editor of "The Independent", the offices of which have been forcibly shut down since March, fled into exile after his release from a three-week detention during which he was tortured. Omar Bah, news editor of the "Daily Observer", has been missing since May; he disappeared a few days before Gambian police issued a note declaring him "wanted" for his contribution to a critical online publication, "Freedom Newspaper".