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Gambia News : ECOWAS community court hears ‘torture’ case of Gambian journalist
Musa Saidykhan, a Gambian journalist allegedly tortured by state security agents, and his medical doctor are expected to testify before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice on February 17, 2010, according to a press release issued here Friday by the Accra-based Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).
Saidykhan now in exile in the United States of America and his doctor will provide the court with material evidence to substantiate the allegations of torture.
Saidykhan, a former editor-in-chief of the banned The Independent newspaper, was among scores of victims who were illegally detained and suffered all manner of cruelty including torture at the hands of President Yahya Jammeh’s security agents in the aftermath of an alleged coup attempt in March 2006.
According to Saidykhan, during his detention, he was repeatedly tortured until he became unconscious. The continuous torture left scars on his back, legs, arms, and right hand, which was broken in three places. He fled the country to neighbouring Senegal, where he received treatment.
MFWA in 2007 brought the case to the Community Court to seek justice for him. This is the same court that declared the arrest and subsequent “disappearance” of another Gambian journalist, Chief Ebrima Manneh, a reporter of pro-government Daily Observer, as illegal. The Gambian government has however still refused to comply with the court’s ruling and Chief Manneh’s whereabouts still remain unknown.
“The Gambian government fearing more suits by other aggrieved journalists and Gambian citizens who have been victims of its brutalities, in September 2009 tried unsuccessfully to get the heads of ECOWAS countries to support an amendment of the ECOWAS protocol which allows citizens access to the court without first exhausting local remedies. This was after it had failed to get the Community Court to dismiss the case of Saidykhan.
“MFWA is confident that the court, one of the most highly respected regional mechanisms, will demonstrate fairness and ensure that justice is brought to the aggrieved party,” the release concludes.
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