26 February 2007

Alert

Police break silence on missing journalist, deny arresting him


Incident details

Chief Ebrima Manneh

journalist(s)

missing
(MFWA/IFEX) - On 21 February 2007, for the first time during the eight-month disappearance of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a reporter of the pro-government Banjul-based newspaper "Daily Observer", the Gambia Police Force officially denied ever arresting him.

Reacting to MFWA's continuous demands for the release of Manneh, the most recent of which was published in "The Point", the only remaining independent newspaper in the country, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ebrima Bah said, "As far as the Gambia Police Force is concerned, Chief Ebrima Manneh was not detained at any station."

ASP Bah also dismissed the possibility of Manneh being held in Fatoto and "therefore that part of the story is untrue".

Also, for the first time, the Gambian police expressed interest in Manneh's case by urging the general public to furnish it with any "relevant" information about him.

According to MFWA sources, two plainclothes agents of the notoriously feared National Intelligence Agency (NIA) arrested Manneh on the premises of the "Daily Observer" on 11 July 2006.

Manneh's arrest took place just a week after the African Union (AU) Heads of State summit in Banjul, when he was alleged to have passed on "damaging" information to a foreign journalist.

MFWA sources indicated that after his arrest, Manneh was detained variously at the NIA Headquarters, Mile Two Central Prisons, Kartong Police Station, Sibanor Police Station, Kuntaur Police Station and then at Fatoto Police Station, where he was spotted after spending 188 days incommunicado.



Source

Media Institute of Southern Africa
21 Johann Albrecht Street
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek
Namibia
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More on this case

Authorities break silence on "disappearance" of "Daily Observer" reporter Chief Ebrima Manneh 16 April 2009 MFWA urges ECOWAS leaders to pressure President Jammeh to respect court order to release journalist 26 June 2008 Regional court orders release of journalist missing since July 2006 arrest 12 June 2008 State agents fail to appear before regional court investigating journalist's arrest 13 March 2008 IFJ fears detained journalist killed 27 September 2007 "Disappeared" journalist seen 31 July 2007 MFWA sues government at ECOWAS Court over "disappeared" journalist 20 June 2007 Journalist located after 188 days in secret detention 18 January 2007 Newspaper journalist remains arbitrarily detained, 3 months after arrest 18 October 2006 Missing journalist reportedly arrested by National Intelligence Agency; newspaper censored 19 July 2006 New wave of media repression after African Union summit; journalist missing, believed arrested, another in hiding 17 July 2006

The Gambia

Detained journalist granted bail 29 June 2009 Court convicts newspaper editor for "publishing false information" 26 June 2009 Detained journalists charged 24 June 2009 NIA storms newspaper's printing offices, three journalists in hiding 23 June 2009 Three press union executives and four journalists detained by National Intelligence Agency 16 June 2009

West Africa

NIGERIA: RSF urges president to take action following recent attacks on media 2 July 2009 MAURITANIA: Detained website editor faces up to five years in prison 2 July 2009 NIGERIA: CPJ urges inspector general to probe police harassment, assault 1 July 2009