H. E. Yahya Jammeh
President of The Gambia
Banjul
The Gambia
Vienna, 17 April 1998
Your Excellency
The International Press Institute (IPI) is most concerned about the case of Baboucar Gaye, the proprietor of Citizen FM, and the continued closure of his radio station.
Baboucar Gaye and Ebrima Sillah, news editor of Citizen FM, were arrested by members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on Thursday, 5 February 1998. Sillah was released on 7 February and Gaye on 9 February, but Gaye was detained again on 10 February, and finally released on12 February.
NIA officials and armed soldiers sealed off the Citizen FM on 6 February, ordering all staff members to leave the premises, which is shared by the New Citizen newspaper. The premises remain closed and under armed guard. As a result the New Citizen, which Baboucar publishes, has been locked out of its offices and cannot operate.
The detention of Gaye and Sillah came shortly after a story was broadcast on Citizen FM claiming that the NIA’s Director of Operations had been sacked in connection with an alleged counterfeit scandal. The Ministry of Information, in consultation with the Ministry of Justice, issued an official statement justifying the closure of the station on the grounds that the broadcasting of rumours was “irresponsible” and “deceptive” on the part of the two journalists, and that it violated national security interests as well as the conditions under which radio and newspaper licenses are issued.
Gaye was brought to court on 5 March and charged with operating a radio station without a license under a law dating back to colonial times, the 1913 Telegraph Station Act, which states: “If any person establishes a telegraph station without a license … he shall be liable to a fine of 1,000 dalasis or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding 12 months and in either case is liable to forfeit any apparatus for telegraphy installed or worked without a license.” Gaye has pleased not guilty to the charge and his case has been adjourned to 20 April.
IPI, the global network of editors and media executives, believes that the continued closure of Citizen FM is a violation of everyone’s right to seek, receive and impart information, as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We therefore strongly urge that all charges against Gaye are dropped immediately and unconditionally, that Citizen FM is allowed to resume broadcasting, and that restrictions, through licensing or other certification procedures, which limit the right to freely gather and distribute information, are eliminated.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
