On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 11:56 AM, abdoukarim sanneh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

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 3
rd 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 18
th 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 22
nd 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 Dear
General Secretary, NUJ

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