Reporters Without Borders
Press release
12 September 2006
GAMBIA
Public TV reporter secretly
detained because of his opposition election rally
coverage
The unlawful arrest and detention of Gambian public television
reporter Dodou Sanneh in an undisclosed location for the past
six days was forcefully condemned today by Reporters Without Borders
as another episode in a systematic crackdown on the press by President
Yahya Jammeh's government.
"This latest arrest just two weeks before presidential elections
highlights the despotic character of the incumbent's government,"
the press freedom organisation said. "Sanneh seems to have been
arrested for not being sufficiently servile towards the country's
current rulers. If the African Union does not at the very least ask
Jammeh to respect all the treaties and charters he has signed, it will
never again be able speak out about rigged election anywhere in the
continent."
Reporters Without Borders learned from several local sources that did
not want to be identified that Sanneh, who works for the
state-owned Gambian Radio and Television Services (GRTS), has
been held since 7 September. He had been given the job of covering the
election campaign of the opposition UDP-NRP-GPDP alliance, which is
backing lawyer Ousainou Darboe as presidential candidate. He was
reportedly arrested because his coverage of its meetings was
considered "not objective."
The sources do no know where Sanneh is being held or what charges
might have been brought against him. He is the 10th journalist to be
arrested in Gambia since the start of the year. None of these arrests
has complied with the legal requirement that detainees must be charged
within 72 hours and must be allowed access to a lawyer.
The Gambian capital of Banjul is the headquarters of the African
Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). It also hosted an
African Union summit on 1-2 July.
Meanwhile, the CPJ also issued a statement on Sanneh's arrest. Please read on...
GAMBIA: State TV reporter jailed after covering opposition campaign
New York, September 12, 2006—The
Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the secret detention
of a television reporter in the Gambia who was covering an opposition
candidate running in the September 22 presidential election.
Dodou Sanneh of state-owned Gambia Radio
and Television Services (GRTS) was detained September 8, according to
sources who did not wish to be identified for fear of retribution by
the authorities. He is the third journalist believed to be held by the
National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the sources said. Sanneh is thought
to be at the headquarters of the NIA in the capital Banjul. A NIA
official contacted by CPJ could not provide any information.
“It is outrageous that a journalist can
be locked up without explanation and held in an undisclosed location,”
said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “The government’s continued
violations of press freedom are making a mockery of the democratic
process in the Gambia. We call on the authorities to release Dodou
Sanneh immediately.”
Since March, the government has shut a
leading independent newspaper, detained at least 10 journalists, and
brought a reporter to trial under a repressive new law.
Local sources said the day before his
arrest Sanneh was taken off an assignment covering a campaign
appearance by Ousainou Darboe, one of two opposition candidates running
against President Yahya Jammeh. It was not clear who or what prompted
the move. The following day, the NIA summoned Sanneh and arrested him,
the sources said.
A Banjul-based journalist told CPJ that
media coverage of opposition candidates had dwindled since the arrest.
Gambian government officials were not available for comment.
Another journalist, “Chief” Ebrimah B.
Manneh of the pro-government Daily Observer, has been missing since
July 7 and is believed by several sources to be in NIA custody. Former
journalist Malick Mboob has been in the agency’s custody since May 26,
according to CPJ research. Officials contacted by CPJ have declined to
comment on the cases.
CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
