Joint Statement
On 22 July 1994, a
group of military officers led by lieutenant Yahya Jammeh overthrew President
Dawda Jawara, who had been in power
in Gambia since 1970. Yahya Jammeh,
supported by the army, proclaimed himself President of the Republic
and, over time, took direct control of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of
Interior.
The Gambian government
tolerates no dissent and commits serious human rights violations. Human rights
defenders, journalists, political opponents and other Gambians who are critical
of government policies continue to face intimidation, harassment, arbitrary
arrest, detention, torture, ill-treatment, death threats and enforced
disappearance.
Some of the human
rights violations recorded over the last 20 years include the killing of 14
protesters in April 2000, the killing of journalist Deyda Hydara in 2004, the
enforced disappearance of journalist Ebrima Manneh in 2006, the torture of
journalist Musa Saidykhan in 2006, the arbitrary executions of
9 prisoners in 2012, and the
“incommunicado” detention of human rights
defender Imam Baba Leigh for five months of the same year.
The Gambian
government has repeatedly failed to comply
with several rulings by the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Court of Justice, including refusing to
compensate Musa Saidykhan, and the families of Ebrima Manneh and Deyda Hydara.
The justice system has
also been weakened since President Yahya Jammeh came to power, undermined by
interference by the Executive and increasingly repressive legislation aimed at
muzzling dissent.
For example, in April
2013, the National Assembly passed amendments to the Criminal Code increasing
sanctions for “giving false information to public servants” (Section 114) from
six months imprisonment and/or a fine of 500 Dalasi (approximately US$13) to
imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of 50,000 Dalasi (US$1,293).
Further, in July 2013,
the National Assembly passed the Information and Communication (Amendment) Act
providing that internet users, journalists and bloggers found guilty of
spreading false news can be punished by
up to 15 years in prison and
may be fined up to 3 million dalasi
(approximately US$74,690).
In this pervasive
climate of fear, most journalists, human rights defenders and citizens are forced
to practice self-censorship or to flee the country.
In response to these
flagrant and ongoing human rights violations by the government hosting
the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights - the primary human rights
institution of Africa -our organizations continue to mobilize to put an end to
repression and impunity in Gambia.
We call
the attention of the international community –
in particular, the African Commission on Human
and Peoples’ Rights, the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS)
and African States – to the deteriorating human
rights situation and lack of effective
remedies for victims in Gambia over the last 20 years.
We urge President Yahya
Jammeh to ensure that Gambian authorities
• Investigate all
reported human rights abuses and bring perpetrators to justice;
• Repeal legislative
provisions used to restrict freedom of expression, in particular the
Information and Communication Act, the Indemnity Act and the Criminal Code
Amendment;
• Uphold
the universal rights of freedom of
expression, assembly and association and allow
journalists, human rights defenders and
political activists to continue their
activities unhindered without fear of attacks, arbitrary arrests, torture
and enforced disappearance;
• Release immediately
and unconditionally all prisoners of conscience, including journalist Ebrima
Manneh and members the opposition party United Democratic Party (UDP) Amadou
Sanneh, Alhagie Sambou Fatty and Malang Fatty;
• Release all those who
are currently detained unlawfully or charge them with a recognizable offence in
a fair trial;
• Promptly implement
and enforce judgments from the ECOWAS Court of Justice in the cases of
journalists Ebrima Manneh, Musa Saidykhan and Deyda Hydara.
We urge President Yahya
Jammeh to ensure that Gambian authorities
• Investigate all
reported human rights abuses and bring perpetrators to justice;
• Repeal legislative
provisions used to restrict freedom of expression, in particular the
Information and Communication Act, the Indemnity Act and the Criminal Code
Amendment;
• Uphold
the universal rights of freedom of
expression, assembly and association and allow
journalists, human rights defenders and political
activists to continue their activities unhindered without fear of
attacks, arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearance;
• Release immediately
and unconditionally all prisoners of conscience, including journalist Ebrima
Manneh and members the opposition party United Democratic Party (UDP) Amadou
Sanneh, Alhagie Sambou Fatty and Malang Fatty;
• Release all those who
are currently detained unlawfully or charge them with a recognizable offence in
a fair trial;
• Promptly implement
and enforce judgments from the ECOWAS Court of Justice on Ebrima Manneh, Musa
Saidykhan and Deyda Hydara.
The undersigned:
Burkina Faso
1. Centre de Presse
Norbert Zongo
Cote d’Ivoire
2. Coalition de Société Civile pour la paix et le
Développement Démocratique en Côte d’Ivoire (COSOPCI)
3. Club Union Africaine CI Cote d’Ivoire
4. Ligue Ivoirienne des Droits de l’Homme (LIDHO)
Gambia
5. Democratic Union of
Gambian Activists (DUGA)
6. Coalition for Change
Gambia (CCG)
Ghana
7. Partner at
Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co
Kenya
8. Baringo Human Rights
Consortium
Liberia
9. Center for Media
Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP)
10. Liberia Press Union
Mali
11. Institut pour la Démocratie et l’Education au Mali
(IDEM)
12. Maison de la Presse
Nigeria
13. Institute for Media
and Society
14. International Press
Centre (IPC)
15. Media Rights Agenda
(MRA)
Senegal
16. Cicodev Afrique
17. Conseil des Organisations non Gouvernementales
(CONGAD)
18. Ligue Sénégalaise des Droits de l'Homme(LSDH)
19. Rencontre Africaine pour les droits de l’homme
(RADDHO)
20. Y’en à Marre
South Africa
21. Centre for Human
Rights, University of Pretoria
22. South African
National Editors Forum (SANEF)
Regional and
International
23. Africa Freedom of
Information Centre
24. African Editors
Forum
25. Amnesty
International
26. ARTICLE 19
27. Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ)
28. Federation of
African Journalists (FAJ)
29. International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
30. International Press
Institute (IPI)
31. Media Foundation
for West Africa ( MFWA)
32. Media Institute of
Southern Africa (MISA)
33. Panos Institute for
West Africa (IPAO)
34. Reporters Without
Borders (RWB)
35. West Africa
Journalist Association (WAJA)
36. West African Bar
Association (WABA)
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