(IPI/IFEX) – In a 2 November 2001 letter to President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, IPI condemned the recent arrest of Baboucar Gaye and the closure of his radio station, Citizen FM. On the basis of information supplied to IPI, on 29 October, Citizen FM interrupted its usual broadcasting schedule to announce that Gaye, the proprietor of […]
(IPI/IFEX) – In a 2 November 2001 letter to President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, IPI condemned the recent arrest of Baboucar Gaye and the closure of his radio station, Citizen FM.
On the basis of information supplied to IPI, on 29 October, Citizen FM interrupted its usual broadcasting schedule to announce that Gaye, the proprietor of the radio station, had been arrested by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). After his arrest, Gaye was taken to the headquarters of the NIA, where he made a phone call to the radio station asking staff to halt their broadcasting.
Gaye was arrested for alleged tax arrears. According to the authorities, he apparently owes tax arrears of US$ 9,000. However, the arrest may have been due to the announcement that the radio station would air the presidential election results as they were returned. This decision contravenes the Gambian law on elections, which states that the electoral commission must be the first body to provide news of the election results. After being held for eight hours, Gaye was eventually released but Citizen FM remains closed.
In the past, both the radio station and Gaye have suffered from the close attentions of the authorities. Gaye was arrested and Citizen FM closed in February 1998. At that time, essential equipment was also taken from the radio station and Gaye was later convicted of operating a radio station without a licence. He received a fine and was forced to forfeit the station’s equipment to the government, thus preventing him from broadcasting. In 2000, after a protracted court battle, the Gambian judiciary finally held in favour of Gaye and the radio station. A decision made by the court on 3 July quashed Gaye’s conviction and sentence, as well as the forfeiture of the radio equipment (see IFEX alerts of 11 and 6 July 2000, 13 August, 22 and 17 June 1999, 19 May, 20 April, 3 March, 19, 13 and 9 February 1998).
IPI firmly believes that the use of alleged tax evasion to close down a radio station is an abuse of the government’s powers. Based on recent history, IPI is of the opinion that the authorities are pursuing a vendetta for the radio station’s past reporting.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– inviting the Gambian government to do everything in its power to ensure that Citizen FM is allowed to continue broadcasting
– noting that by doing so, he will be upholding the principle of “everybody’s right to seek, receive and impart information,” as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Appeals To
H.E. President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh
State House
Banjul, The Gambia
Fax: +220 227 034
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
