Gambia’s NIA harasses, detains journalist without charge
Abuja, Nigeria, January 9, 2013–Gambian authorities should immediately release Abdoulie John, a journalist who has been detained without charge in Banjul since Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. John has been harassed by the Gambian National Intelligence Agency since early December, news reports said. John, editor of the online news website Jollof News…
More can be done to get justice for Deyda Hydara
In the eight years since unidentified assailants shot and killed Deyda Hydara of the Gambia, no one has been held to account. The late 2004 murder of Hydara, an immensely respected editor, columnist, and press freedom advocate known for his criticism of President Yahya Jammeh’s repressive media policies, became a rallying point for Gambian journalists…
Gambian journalist threatened after writing on executions
Lagos, Nigeria, November 16, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists today said it holds authorities in the Gambia responsible for the safety of a journalist who has received death threats following critical coverage of the government.Abubacarr Saidykhan, a freelancer who contributes to several news websites, told CPJ that four unknown people on Tuesday threatened him at…
Amid execution debate, the Gambia censors newspapers
Lagos, Nigeria, September 17, 2012–State security agents in the Gambia on Friday ordered two independent newspapers to cease publication immediately but provided no explanation, according to local journalists and news reports.Agents from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in the capital, Banjul, visited the offices of the daily The Standard and the paper Daily News, which publishes three times…
The Gambia orders BBC journalist to leave country
Gambian authorities detained Thomas Fessy, the West Africa correspondent of BBC World News, for several hours at the capital’s international airport on September 5, 2012, and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, the BBC reported. Fessy returned to Senegal on September 7, 2012.
The Gambia shuts independent radio station
New York, August 15, 2012–Gambian national security agents summarily shut an independent radio station early this morning without providing an explanation, according to news reports. Authorities have censored Taranga FM at least twice before in retaliation for its exclusive news review program, according to news reports. Officers of the Gambian National Intelligence Agency stormed Taranga…
For Gambia’s press, positive developments?
Good news for Gambia’s beleaguered independent press has been rare during President Yahya Jammeh’s 17-year rule, but last week brought three potentially positive developments. It’s unclear whether they mark a real change in the status quo, but they may at least increase the resolve of advocacy groups to seek improvements.
Pursuing justice for Gambia’s Deyda Hydara
December 16 will be the seventh anniversary of the killing of Deyda Hydara, the dean of Gambian journalism. It is also the 20th anniversary of the first issue of The Point, the courageously independent-minded daily that Hydara founded and directed for many years. He was murdered in a drive-by shooting as he drove himself and…
