Managing editor of private newspaper receives death threats
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI letter to Gambian President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh: H.E. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh President of the Republic of The Gambia State House Banjul The Gambia Fax: +220 227 034 Vienna, 21 January 2004 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, […]
Newspaper’s offices attacked
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: THE GAMBIA: Newspaper’s offices attacked New York, October 20, 2003-The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Friday, October 17, arson attack on the offices of the private, biweekly Independent newspaper, located in a suburb of the capital, Banjul. According to local journalists, on the evening of […]
Newspaper editor Aboulaye Sey alleges death threat
(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA-MFWA alert update: Aboulaye Sey, editor-in-chief of the bi-weekly newspaper “The Independent”, who was picked up on 19 September 2003 and detained incommunicado until 22 September, has alleged that National Intelligence Agency (NIA) personnel threatened to kill him if he continued to publish stories criticising President Yahyah Jammeh’s […]
Editor Abdoulie Sey released from detention
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 23 September 2003 CPJ press release: THE GAMBIA: Editor released from detention New York, September 23, 2003 – Abdoulie Sey, editor-in-chief of the private, biweekly Independent, was released from detention yesterday evening in Gambia, said sources in the capital, Banjul. On September 19, three men in an unmarked car […]
IPI concerned about editor’s disappearance and previous harassment of “The Independent” newspaper
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI letter to President Yahya Jammeh: H.E. President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh State House Banjul The Gambia Fax: +220 227 034 Vienna, 24 September 2003 Your Excellency, The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives, wishes to express its concern at the disappearance […]
Editor arrested and missing
(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA-MFWA alert: On 19 September 2003, Abdoulie Sey, editor-in-chief of the English-language biweekly newspaper “The Independent”, was arrested by plainclothes security agents in the capital, Banjul. His whereabouts are unknown. No reasons have been given for his arrest. According to MFWA-Gambia sources, National Intelligence Agency (NIA) operatives, widely […]
ARTICLE 19 and MFWA protest enforcement of act establishing National Media Commission
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a joint ARTICLE 19 and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) press release: Accra/Johannesburg In a joint protest, the Media Foundation for West Africa and ARTICLE 19 reiterated their concerns over the Enforcement of the Act establishing the National Media Commission of The Gambia (NMC Act 2002 No. 7 […]
MISA and MFWA call for reopening of Citizen FM radio station
(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA-MFWA alert: MISA and the MFWA are gravely concerned about the continued illegal and arbitrary closure of Citizen FM radio station in Banjul, The Gambia. For more than two years, the government of President Yahya Jammeh has stopped Citizen FM from broadcasting on a false claim that the […]
Journalist assaulted
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: THE GAMBIA: Journalist assaulted New York, August 22, 2003-Earlier this month, Gambian police assaulted Buya Jammeh, a reporter for the English-language biweekly The Independent, near the newspaper’s offices in the capital, Banjul. According to sources familiar with the incident, on August 9, two police officers stationed […]
Journalist detained over alleged slur against vice-president’s late husband
(RSF/IFEX) – On 6 August 2002, RSF called for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Pa Ousman Darboe, who has been held since 2 August in connection with an article in the Banjul biweekly “The Independent.” The article reported that the vice-president had remarried and mentioned her late husband’s legal problems. The newspaper’s managing […]
CPJ urges president not to sign media bill
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ letter to President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh: August 1, 2002 President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh State House, Banjul The Gambia Via facsimile: 220 227 03485 Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly urges you to reject the National Media Commission Bill 2002, which would impose unacceptable restrictions on […]
Congolese correspondent arrested and held without charge
(RSF/IFEX) – On 29 July 2002, RSF called for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Guy-Patrick Massoloka, a Banjul-based correspondent for the Pan African News Agency (PANA) of Congolese (Brazzaville) nationality. Massoloka was arrested by National Intelligence Agency (NIA, secret service) officials on 19 July and is still being held without charge. “This arrest, […]
Gambian Parliament passes repressive bill
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 6 May 2002 CPJ press release: THE GAMBIA: New press law would force journalists to reveal sources New York, May 6, 2002-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned by the recent passage of the National Media Commission Bill 2002, a pernicious piece of legislation that would give […]
Media bill seriously threatens press freedom
(RSF/IFEX) – On 30 April 2002, RSF called on Gambian Parliament Speaker Sheriff Mustapha Dibba to do everything he can to block passage of a new press bill that would seriously endanger press freedom, according to the organisation. “This bill aims to create a National Media Commission that will be a full-scale press court,” RSF […]
IPI condemns journalist Alhagie Mbye’s continued detention
(IPI/IFEX) – In a 28 November 2001 letter to President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, IPI condemned the continued detention of a journalist in The Gambia. According to information provided to IPI, on 21 November, Alhagie Mbye, a senior and well-respected reporter with the private Banjul daily “The Independent” was arrested by members of the National Intelligence […]
Journalist arrested in Banjul after denouncing electoral fraud
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Justice Joseph Joof, RSF called for the immediate release of Alhagie Mbye, a journalist from “The Independent” and correspondent for the London-based magazine “West Africa”. He has been detained since 21 November 2001 at the National Intelligence Agency’s (NIA) headquarters in Banjul. “This is not the first […]