(MFWA/IFEX) – On 8 March 2009, Halifa Sallah, publisher of pro-opposition “Foroyaa Newspaper” was arrested and detained at a police station in Serrekunda, The Gambia’s second largest city. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that the police have not given any reasons for his arrest and subsequent detention. The sources reported three hours […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 8 March 2009, Halifa Sallah, publisher of pro-opposition “Foroyaa Newspaper” was arrested and detained at a police station in Serrekunda, The Gambia’s second largest city. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that the police have not given any reasons for his arrest and subsequent detention.
The sources reported three hours after his arrest at about 8:00 p.m. (local time) that Sallah, who had not been charged with any offence, was transferred to another police station in Yumdum, 20 km from Serrekunda.
Sallah is the latest Gambian to be arrested and detained without charge. At a 11 February news conference, Sallah condemned the frequent abuse of human rights in The Gambia, a subject often covered in the “Foroyaa Newspaper”. Excerpts can be accessed via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/cac4qz
MFWA is calling on The Gambian authorities to respect the country’s constitution by formally charging him before a court of a competent jurisdiction or releasing him immediately and unconditionally.
