The seven, all from either The Point, an independent daily, or the opposition newspaper Foroyaa, were picked up on Monday by the security forces and have not yet been allowed any visits from family, lawyers, or colleagues.

Police sources told AFP the six men and one woman, who are being held at the headquarters of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in Banjul, would certainly not be released on Wednesday.

The seven are Foroyaa editor-in-chief Sam Sarr, The Point editor-in-chief Pap Saine, journalists and press union officials Emil Touray, Pa Modou Faal and Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, and journalists Ebrima Sawaneh and Abubacarr Saidykhan.

The furore started when the Gambian Press Union (GPU) issued a statement this weekend criticising President Jammeh for "provocative" and "inappropriate" comments about the 2004 murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara.

On June 8, Jammeh said in an interview on Gambian state television that the government had "no stake" in the killing and hinted that Hydara's love life led to the murder.

Hydara, editor and co-founder of The Point and also AFP's Gambia correspondent, was gunned down by unidentified gunmen in his car on the outskirts of Banjul in December 2004. Many observers suspect government involvement in the killing.

The GPU statement criticising Jammeh was reprinted in Foroyaa and The Point, leading to the arrests.

This latest media crackdown by the Gambian authorities, already strongly criticized for their dismal human rights record, has sparked outrage well beyond Gambia.

"The Gambian Press Union has the right to question the government over its failure to investigate the murder of Deyda Hydara," said Tom Rhodes, a spokesman for the New York-based Commission to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

"It is outrageous that security forces should detain journalists from The Point and Foroyaa for carrying a press release," he said in a statement, calling for all seven to be released.

Most people in the Gambian capital were scared to speak out for fear of the far-reaching security forces, but some were still willing to vent their anger.

"This country, which has long been known for the peace and tranquility it enjoys, has now turned into hell where no one would like to live any longer," said 50-year-old Modou Jammeh.

A newspaper vendor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also called on the government to release the journalists.

"This unending (wave of) arrests and detention of people especially journalists doesn't reflect well on the country's democracy," he told AFP.