Newspaper publisher detained again, ordered to stop publication, faces new charges
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 11 September 2008, Abdul Hamid Adiamoh, publisher and editor of “Today”, a privately-owned Banjul-based newspaper, who is standing trial for allegedly “publishing with seditious intention”, was arrested and detained by the Serious Crime Unit of the Gambian Police Force. A ban was also immediately placed on the newspaper. Media Foundation for West […]
Newspaper publisher detained again, court grants him bail
(MFWA/IFEX) – Abdul Hamid Adiamoh, publisher and editor of “Today”, a privately-owned, Banjul-based newspaper, was arrested for the third time on 26 August 2008 and held overnight at a police station in Serrekunda, Gambia’s second largest city. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that Adiamoh was granted bail on 27 August by the […]
Freelance journalist gets four years in prison or heavy fine for criticising president
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders “energetically condemns” the sentence of four years in prison or a fine of 250,000 dalasis (approx. 8,000 euros), which a Banjul court passed on 18 August 2008 on Fatou Jaw Manneh, a contributor to the AllGambian.net website, after convicting her of “sedition” for criticising President Yahya Jammeh in a 2005 […]
Journalist Fatou Jaw Manneh pleads not guilty, faces six-year jail term in sedition case
(MFWA/IFEX) – Fatou Jaw Manneh, a US-based Gambian journalist, faces a possible prison sentence if found guilty of sedition charges following an interview highly critical of President Yahya Jammeh and his administration, which she granted to the media in 2004. The Kanifing Magistrate court trying her has fixed 18 August 2008 as the day it […]
Police detain Nigerian publisher again, search his house, confiscate his residency permit
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 11 August 2008, Abdulhamid Adiomoh, the Nigerian publisher and editor of “Today”, a privately-owned, Banjul-based newspaper, was arrested again and detained overnight at the Serious Crime Unit of the Gambian Police Force in the capital city, Banjul. Adiomoh was arrested previously in July and accused by the police of “publishing with seditious […]
Two newspaper journalists briefly detained, one charged with sedition
(MFWA/IFEX) – Abdulhamid Adiomoh and Pa Bajika, Nigerian publisher and reporter, respectively, for the privately-owned Banjul-based “Today Newspaper”, were on 17 July 2008 arrested and briefly detained at the headquarters of The Gambian Police Force over a story that the paper published. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that the two were subjected […]
Newspaper journalist attacked in Serrekunda
(MFWA/IFEX) – Justice Momodou Darboe, a journalist with “The Point”, an independent, privately-owned, Banjul-based daily newspaper, was violently attacked and seriously injured by an armed man on 1 July 2008. MFWA sources report that the knife-wielding assailant ambushed the journalist and attacked him after he got out of a taxi near his house in Serrekunda, […]
Managing director granted bail, his passport confiscated
(MFWA/IFEX) – The Kanifing Court trying Dida Halake, former Managing Director of the Observer Company Limited, publishers of the pro-government “Daily Observer” newspaper, on 25 June 2008 granted him bail after almost two weeks in detention. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that he was granted bail in the sum of 25,000 Gambian […]
Former “Daily Observer” manager dismissed, imprisoned despite court’s initial dismissal of sedition charges
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 23 June 2008, a Banjul Magistrate court presided over by Buba Jawo dismissed a case of sedition preferred against Dida Halake, former managing editor and managing director of the pro-government “Daily Observer” newspaper, who was recently detained. MFWA’s sources reported that the ruling followed a request by Halake’s counsel, Lamin Jobarteh. The […]
MFWA urges ECOWAS leaders to pressure President Jammeh to respect court order to release journalist
(MFWA/IFEX) – The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is asking the heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), meeting for the 34th Ordinary Summit in Abuja, particularly its current chairman, President Blaisé Compoare, to ensure that the government of President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia releases detained Gambian journalist, […]
“Foroyaa” newspaper reporter detained overnight while investigating journalist’s arrest; editorial independence of “Daily Observer” undermined
(MFWA/IFEX) – Saikou Ceesay, a reporter with the Banjul-based opposition “Foroyaa” newspaper, was arrested on 15 June 2008 and detained overnight in the Kotu police station in Kombo province, about 11 kilometres southwest of Banjul, the capital of The Gambia. MFWA sources reported that Ceesay was arrested at the police station while investigating the arrest […]
Regional court orders release of journalist missing since July 2006 arrest
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders welcomes a regional court ruling ordering Gambia to release Chief Ebrima Manneh, a reporter who was arrested by the National Intelligence Agency on 7 July 2006 and has been missing ever since. The ruling, issued on 5 June 2008 by the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of […]
Opposition newspaper reporter threatened with abduction, violence, told to stop criticising government
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 20 and 21 May 2008, Fabakary B. Ceesay, a reporter with the opposition newspaper “Foroyaa”, was threatened with abduction and violence by an anonymous caller. MFWA sources in The Gambia report that the caller told Ceesay to stop writing articles critical of the government or “face the consequences.” The calls came to […]
Former newspaper editor acquitted of criminal charges for publishing false information
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 19 May 2008, Mam Sait Ceesay, a former editor of the pro-government “Daily Observer” newspaper, who has been standing trial on two counts of publishing and broadcasting false information, was acquitted and discharged of the offences by the Banjul Magistrate court. Meanwhile, Malick Jones, a principal prosecution witness who testified in Ceesay’s […]
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, MFWA urges governments to respect press freedom
(MFWA/IFEX) – The following is a 2 May 2008 MFWA press statement: MFWA urges governments of the Gambia and Niger to respect Press Freedom As the world celebrates World Press Freedom Day, tomorrow, May 3, 2008, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is once again drawing attention to the deteriorating press freedom situation in The […]
Journalist’s trial resumes; public barred from attending
(MFWA/IFEX) – The Kanifing Magistrate Court trying Fatou Jaw Manneh, a US-based Gambian journalist, for alleged sedition on 21 April 2008 restricted the general public from the trial by ruling that only Manneh’s family members and two journalists were to be admitted to the court. Media Foundation for West Africa’s (MFWA) sources reported that the […]