Missing

I last saw Deyda Hydara alive on December 14, 2004, only two days before his death. To this day, the gunmen who shot dead the Gambia’s best-known journalist as he drove home from work are still at large. The crime remains unsolved.

CPJ is concerned for the safety of two American journalists, Holli Chmela, 27, and Taylor Luck, 23, who are reported missing in Lebanon. The Chmela family issued the following statement tonight.   We are hoping and praying for the safe return of our children, Taylor Luck and Holli Chmela. We wish to thank the State Department and FBI…

This week marks a significant change in the press freedom climate for journalists in West Africa: Journalists, media organizations, and activists in the region fought back against attacks and censorship against the press, in contrast to a decade ago, when the media was too oppressed and scared to speak out. In Sierra Leone, Guinea, and…

Philippine blog The Mindanao Examiner has an open letter to President Gloria Arroyo that is critical of her approach to press freedom in the country, one of the most deadly for journalists. The Sun Star has an update on their blog Arroyo Watch that examines her comments critical of the media. CPJ’s Global Campaign Against…

Considerable international press coverage arose from U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin’s statements on the Senate floor last week, calling on the Gambian government to release imprisoned journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh. But Durbin’s request has not drawn a response from the Gambian Embassy in Washington. Ambassador Abdul R. Cole told CPJ today that his government would not…

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said he wanted to focus his colleagues’ attention on a tragic story in a small West African nation. Chief Ebrima Manneh is a reporter in the Gambia for the state-controlled Daily Observer newspaper. He was arrested by two plainclothes officers from the country’s National Intelligence Agency at the newspaper’s office building…

New York, June 6, 2008—CPJ applauds a regional court’s ruling on Thursday declaring the 2006 arrest of Gambian journalist “Chief” Ebrima Manneh to be illegal and ordering his immediate release. The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States also ordered the Gambian government to pay US$100,000 in damages to Manneh’s…

New York, July 30, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports that a Gambian reporter, arrested a year ago and since held incommunicado without charge or trial by the government, was briefly admitted last week to Gambia’s main hospital in the capital, Banjul. “Chief” Ebrima B. Manneh, the State House correspondent for…

Your Excellency, We are deeply concerned about the well-being of our colleague “Chief” Ebrima B. Manneh of the Daily Observer, who has not been seen or heard from since his arrest seven months ago, according to sources in the media and human rights organizations.