The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the authorities
in The Gambia to release two journalists arrested on Friday.
“We condemn
these arrests and call on authorities to release the two journalists to
continue their work in favor of freedom of expression. In a context of recent
executions of nine death row inmates in The Gambia ordered by President Yaya
Jammeh these arrests show that the Gambia is determined to kill all freedoms.
The international community must press the Gambian authorities in a continuous
action in favor of human rights,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director IFJ Africa
Office.
According to
Gambian Press Union (GPU) an IFJ affiliate, Babucar Ceesay, Vice President of
the Union and journalist with Daily News newspaper and Abubacarr Saidykhan,
freelance journalist have been arrested by police on Friday 7 September 2012.
GPU said it did
not know the reasons of their arrests. The
two journalists are being detained at the Police Headquarters in the country’s
capital. Police denied them visits from relatives and colleagues.
Independent sources said their arrests are
linked to a letter addressed to authorities seeking an authorization to
organize a peaceful rally to protest against the recent executions of death
rows in the Gambia.
The Gambia under the administration of
President Yaya Jammeh has been cited as the worst predator of press freedom in West
Africa. No independent investigations were done into the assassination in 2004 of
prominent journalist and Editor Deyda Hydara and the disappearance in 2006 of the
journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh.
“We call on our
partners to mobilize to campaign for the release and the safety of the journalists
in The Gambia,”added Baglo.
For more information, please contact IFJ on +221- 33 867 95 87
The IFJ represents more than 600.000 journalists in
134 countries