(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced renewed concern about government tactics as the National Assembly amended libel and sedition laws on 23 June 2005, introducing crippling fines against newspapers and increased prison terms for journalists. RSF appealed to the international community and in particular Britain, which takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union on […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced renewed concern about government tactics as the National Assembly amended libel and sedition laws on 23 June 2005, introducing crippling fines against newspapers and increased prison terms for journalists.
RSF appealed to the international community and in particular Britain, which takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union on 1 July, to make the defence of freedoms in The Gambia one its major diplomatic initiatives.
The changes to the criminal code come six months after the still unpunished murder of Deyda Hydara, co-founder and editor of “The Point” newspaper, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and RSF correspondent, on 16 December 2004. Rather than hunting his killers, the government has launched a campaign to discredit him (see IFEX alerts of 9 June, 19 May, 22 March, 25 and 22 February 2005, and others).
RSF noted that while The Gambia’s government had never made use of its anti-freedom legislation, the organisation interpreted the adoption of these amendments as a sign that the government had decided to launch an offensive against the independent press.
“These apparently innocent changes appear intended for immediate use, the moment President Yahya Jammeh promulgates them,” RSF said. “The international community must react before independent journalists are thrown in prison for being unable to pay fines or newspapers close to save their journalists from prison.”
According to local sources, on 23 June, the National Assembly adopted an amendment to the criminal code establishing the “option of a fine” as an alternative to prison, from 50,000 dalasis (approx. US$1,760; 1,460 euros) to 250,000 dalasis (approx. US$8,800; 7,300 euros) for “defamation” and “sedition”. In addition, it hiked the minimum prison sentence from six months to one year.
Against this background, RSF restated its “unshakeable commitment” to the Hydara family and journalists working in The Gambia’s privately-owned press.
