The GPU-USA joins the GPU-Gambia, the international media and human rights community, and the diplomatic community at home and abroad in condeming the Jammeh dictatorship's re-arrest, jailing, and continued bullying of Gambian journalists at home. This latest action by the Gambia High Court testifies to the fact that the Gambian justice system is nothing but a repression arm and instrument of the Jammeh despotism. Mercenary judges like Joseph Wowo are imported into our country to help Jammeh oppress the Gambian people with no justification whatsoever. The re-arrest of the Gambian journalists is also a measure of Jammeh's personal contempt for decency and for the norms of international decorum and civility. We call on all right thinking persons to joins us in condeming this brutish regime by signing the petition below. Under the petition url is the press release issued by Gambia Press Union-Gambia in the wake of the latest outrage against innocent journalists in Banjul.
http://www.petitiononline.com/gampu123/petition.html
Signed on behalf of GPU-USA
Baba G. Jallow, Secretary General
GAMBIA PRESS UNION
NO. 5 GARBA JAHUMPA ROAD BAKAU NEWTOWN
P. O. Box 1440, Banjul, The Gambia
email: [log in to unmask] url: www.gambiapressunion.org
Press Release
Friday, July 3 2009
15:00 HRS
GPU Six Journalists Sent Back to Mile Two Prison
The Gambia Press Union condemns today’s re-jailing of seven Gambian journalists by the High Court’s Justice Joseph Wowo.
The six Gambian journalists, Gambia Press Union Secretary General Bai Emil Touray and Pa Modou Faal, Treasurer respectively, The Point Newspaper’s Pap Saine and Ebrima Sawaneh, and, Sam Sarr and Abubakarr Saidy Khan of Foroyaa Newspaper were today Friday 3rd July 2009 remanded again at Mile Two Central Prisons pending the defence counsel filing of a formal bail application before the court.
Sarata Jabbi Dibba, GPU Vice President and a nursing mother whose initial bail conditions were also revoked was later granted bail.
The GPU considers this latest move a travesty of justice, an affront to the dignity of the Gambian people and contempt towards human rights institutions and the international community calling for the immediate and unconditional dropping of all charges levied against the group.
In reiterating our call for the immediate release and a halt to the unnecessary high handedness of the authorities in the face of global outcry over the dismal situation on state of freedom of expression in The Gambia, the GPU calls on the Gambia Bar Association to step up to its role and speak in defence and support of the rights of all Gambians to Freedom of Expression; to question the legality of today’s court action, to demand a fair trial and to join the GPU in its quest to defend the rights of all Gambians to Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.
We today enjoin the faith based groups in particular the Supreme Islamic and the Gambia Christian Council to uphold their religious role of speaking in defence of the truth especially at times like this, when the truth is most elusive.
We call on human rights institutions and civil society groups based in The Gambia in particular the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa and the Gambia Workers Union and Confederation to take a stance on this affront.
Today, the IFJ President joined a delegation from the UK National Union of Journalists (NUJ), an IFJ affiliate, the British Trade Union Congress and Amnesty International to deliver a letter of protest to President Jammeh at the Gambia High Commission in London; the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) handed in a letter at the Gambian embassy in Brussels and other IFJ affiliates in Sweden, Switzerland, France and Italy.
In Africa, the IFJ affiliate and media representatives joined the president of the GPU in a press conference in Dakar, Senegal, and handed a protest letter to the Gambia High Commission. The Ethiopia Union of Journalists also handed in a letter to the High Commission in Addis Ababa.
The GPU still stands by its statements of Thursday, June 11 and will not waver in the face of injustice. We will continue to work with our colleagues, partners and the international community in the fight to bring back respect for the dignity of the Gambian people.
Aluta Continua.
Ndey Tapha Sosseh
President