Impunity Spotlight

Deyda Hydara, reporter

Murdered: December 16, 2004, in Banjul, Gambia

Case Status: Complete Impunity

"As we approach the 12th anniversary of the cold, brutal, chilling and calculated killing [of Deyda Hydara], we as a family continue to endure the devastation and anguish of impunity."--Marie Hydara, the daughter of murdered journalist Deyda Hydara.

Twelve years ago popular editor and columnist Deyda Hydara was driving home after celebrating the anniversary of his newspaper's founding when assailants shot him. No one has ever been held to account for the murder of Hydara, a known critic of the administration of outgoing President Yahya Jammeh . In 2014, the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice ruled that Gambia failed to investigate Hydara's murder and called for authorities to reopen a probe. Despite its membership to the regional body, Gambia has not complied with the verdict.

After decades in power, during which time journalists were routinely intimidated through violence and imprisonment, Jammeh's administration was voted out in December 2016. Join us in urging Gambia's president-elect, Adama Barrow, to prioritize justice for Hydara and other journalists and to honor Gambia's commitments to ECOWAS.