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Gambia News : Gambian journalist to appear before ECOWAS court for torture charges
A Gambian journalist, who claims to have been tortured by Gambian state agents in 2006, Musa Saidykhan, former editor-in-chief of the banned Banjul-based ‘The Independent’ newspaper, will appear before the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja on Tuesday
According to a press release issued here Monday by the Accra-based Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Musa Saidykhan was on March 28, 2006, arrested and detained by the Gambia Police Intervention Unit and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Gambia Police Force, for publishing the names of alleged coup plotters thereby allegedly implicating the former Gambian Interior Minister - Samba Bah. The release alleges that during his detention, Saidykhan 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,” the release adds.
The release adds that Saidykhan was among several victims who were illegally detained and suffered all manner of cruelty at the hands of the Gambian security agents in the aftermath of an alleged coup attempt in March 2006.
In order to seek justice for him and relief for many other Gambian journalists who had suffered a similar fate and have escaped into exile for fear of repression, the Media Foundation for West Africa in 2007, lodged a complaint against the government of The Gambia before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, seeking a declaration that his arrest, detention and torture by the Gambian security officials was illegal, unconstitutional and contravenes the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ; and in addition claiming the sum of US$2,000,000 (two million US dollars) being compensation for the violation of the applicant’s right to dignity, personal liberty and fair hearing.
This is the second time that the MFWA has lodged a complaint against the government of The Gambia. In the case of Chief Ebrima Manneh and the government of Gambia, The Gambian government refused to carry out the Community Court’s order to release Chief Ebrima Manneh, another Gambian journalist who was detained by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in 2006.
“The Court repeatedly served the government with writs in that case but it gleefully refused to make an appearance, which compelled the Court to give judgment in default. Till date, Chief Manneh’s whereabouts still remain unknown,” the release says.
For the past three years, MFWA has been at the forefront advocating for Manneh’s release ; giving it global awareness through consistent dissemination of alerts and press statements ; holding public fora and networking with other civil society organizations to pressurize the Gambian government to respect the Community Court ruling.
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