It was a right move Karim and others. Well done for the efforts.
suntou

--- On Fri, 3/7/09, abdoukarim sanneh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:


From: abdoukarim sanneh <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Protest letter handed to Gambia High Commissioner today
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Friday, 3 July, 2009, 4:56 PM




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Thanks to all those individuals present-
 

Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus
Junkung Jammeh
President
Office of the President
Banjul
Republic of The Gambia
[log in to unmask]
+ 220-422.70.34
July 3rd 2009
Arrest and trial of trade union leaders and journalists
Dear Mr. President,
We write on behalf of the TUC, Amnesty International (UK) and the National
Union of Journalists (UK & Ireland) to strongly protest at the arrests and
subsequent trial taking place today of union leaders and journalists by your
authorities.
According to the Gambia Press Union we understand that the National
Intelligence Agency (NIA) arrested seven journalists − Sarata Jabbi-Dibba,
Vice-President of the GPU, Emil Touray, General Secretary of the GPU and
Pa Modou Faal, Treasurer of the GPU, the Editor and Deputy Editor of the
Point newspaper, Pap Saine and Ebrima Sawaneh respectively, and the
Editor-in-Chief of Foroyaa newspaper Sam Sarr and a reporter from the same
newspaper, Abubacarr Saidykhan – on June 15th.
The seven journalists were held incommunicado until June 18th when they
were charged before the Kanifing Magistrate Court with three counts of
seditious publication, without the authorities notifying their lawyers.
We add our voices to the scores of trade union organisations, human rights
and media advocacy groups worldwide in their condemnation of such an act
of intimidation designed to stifle freedom of expression and trade union rights
in the Gambia.
We join the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to
Information in Africa, in expressing our concern at the increasing deterioration
of the situation of freedom of expression in your country. In her public
statement on June 22nd following these arrests, she charged your government
for failing in its obligations to protect the right to Freedom of Expression as
provided in Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
(the African Charter) and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of
Expression in Africa (the Declaration) which supplements the provisions of the
African Charter as well as other international human rights instruments ratified
by your government.
As the trial of the seven journalists opens today, we urge you to intervene to
ensure that the charges are dropped and the case dismissed.
Further, we strongly call on your government to bring your media laws in
conformity with Freedom of Expression standards in general and the
Declaration in particular, by repealing laws relating to criminal defamation and
amending any existing defamation laws in conformity with Principle XII of the
Declaration.
Yours sincerely,
Brendan Barber
General Secretary, TUC
Kate Allen
Director, Amnesty International (UK)
Jeremy DearGeneral Secretary, NUJ



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