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Gambia News : Gambian police arrest Foroyaa Editor and reporter for criticising the president
Two more journalists have been arrested and were in detention for
criticising President Yayha Jammeh in a statement issued by the Gambian
Press Union (GPU), police sources said Tuesday.
The latest
arrests of Sam Sarr, the editor-in-chief of the opposition Foroyaa
paper and Abubacarr Saidykhan, a reporter with the same paper, late
Monday brings the total number of arrests to seven.
The GPU
members arrested are journalists at either Foroyaa or the independent
The Point newspaper, which were the only two Gambian media to print the
GPU statement.
Early Monday police raided the offices of the
Gambian Press Union after it issued a weekend statement expressing
"shock and disappointment" about comments made by Jammeh last week
about an investigation into an unsolved 2004 murder of veteran Gambian
journalist Deyda Hydara.
Five journalists present at union premises were arrested and remained in custody Tuesday. The GPU on Sunday condemned Jammeh's
comments as "provocative" and inappropriate, saying they amounted to
"character assassination".
The journalists arrested in connection
with the statement could face charges of sedition or inciting hatred
against lawful authority.
Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday slammed the arrests as a new low in Jammeh's dealings with the press.
"The
Gambian press lives in a permanent climate of fear, but rarely has the
hounding of journalists by the head of state and his government reached
such levels before," RSF said in a statement.
"The bigotry of
Yahya Jammeh towards the media and independent journalists is
unparalleled in west Africa," it added. For several years Jammeh has
been on RSF's list of press freedom predators and his country ranks low
on the organisation's press freedom index.
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- Am Abubacarr Sambou - no disrespect, but were you drunk when you wrote this? Reporters should been cautioned if lying, but if they are telling the truth - and the truth hurts - then the President is a bad man. Release these men.
(Posted on June 20, 2009, 8:27 PM David Riddington)
- forget them mr jammeh dont arrest them please
just only do your work we gambians know that some reporters love gambia so not heat jammeh but not gambia happy to love gambia is we gambian who have a say not reporters or jammeh i love gambia.
(Posted on June 17, 2009, 2:55 AM ABUBACARR SAMBOU)
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