His Excellency
Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh
President of The Gambia
Banjul
The Republic of The Gambia

Vienna, 13 January 2000

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives, is deeply concerned about the charges of libel levelled against four journalists from the Independent newspaper.

On 27 December 1999, editor-in-chief Baba Galleh Jallow, managing editor Alagi Yorro Jallow, and reporters N.B. Daffeh and Jalali Wally were charged with “libel against the president” under the country’s criminal code for publishing a 24 December story, entitled “A New Wife for Jammeh?”, in which the authors quoted sources who said you had married for the third time.

Baba Galleh, Yorro Jallow, and N.B. Daffeh were summoned to police headquarters in Banjul for questioning and later released on bail, but Yorro Jallow explained that the journalists have been asked to report to the police daily until they are taken before a court.

This recent government action against the Independent is only the latest in a series of attempts by the Gambia government to muzzle the country’s independent press in general and the Independent in particular. Since you were elected president in the September 1996 elections, many journalists have been censored or harassed for their critical coverage of the government, while licence fees for private radio stations and newspapers have been more than doubled, financially crippling the independent media. On 23 July 1999, the Independent was suspended – allegedly for failing to pay a registration fee – shortly after it had published a statement by the opposition United Democratic Party that described the president as the “richest person in the region” and the “most corrupt head of state in Africa.” Baba Galleh, Yorro Jallow, and N.B. Daffeh were also arrested at the time.

IPI believes that the criminal charges instituted against Baba Galleh, Yorro Jallow, N.B. Daffeh and Jalali Wally are in clear violation of everyone’s right to seek, receive and impart information, as guaranteed by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We therefore urge you to ensure that the charges against the four journalists are dropped immediately and that The Gambia’s independent media are allowed to carry out their profession without further harassment.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director