Journalists killed in Gambia since 1992
Gambia documents by Year:
Gambia's Daily Observer newspaper closed for two weeks
June 23, 2017 4:44 PM ET
Police and officials from the Gambia Revenue Agency (GRA) on June 14, 2017, shut down the Daily Observer newspaper and forced all staff from the publication to leave the office, saying the publication owed 17 million dalasi (U.S.$371,415) in unpaid taxes, Daily Observer Managing Director Pa Modou Mbowe told...
Gambia issues arrest warrants for suspects in Deyda Hydara murder
May 18, 2017 6:36 PM ET
New York, May 17, 2017--A magistrate's court in Banjul today issued arrest warrants for two people suspected of murdering Gambian editor Deyda Hydara in 2004, according to media reports. The two suspects are not in the country, according to reports....
Seven journalists denied entry to Gambia ahead of contested inauguration
January 18, 2017 6:50 PM ET
Lagos, Nigeria, January 18, 2017--Seven international journalists planning to report on the inauguration of Gambia's president-elect Adama Barrow tomorrow were denied entry to the country on January 16, according to reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the obstruction as a deliberate attempt to silence the press during a...
Gambia orders three radio stations to cease broadcasting
January 5, 2017 2:44 PM ET
Lagos, Nigeria, January 5, 2017--The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Gambian authorities to allow three independent radio stations to resume full broadcasting. Taranga FM, Hilltop Radio, and Afri Radio stopped broadcasting on January 1 on the orders of national security agents, who did not give any explanation for...
Turkey's crackdown propels number of journalists in jail worldwide to record high
December 13, 2016 12:00 AM ET
At least 81 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, all of them facing anti-state charges, in the wake of an unprecedented crackdown that has included the shuttering of more than 100 news outlets. The 259 journalists in jail worldwide is the highest number recorded since 1990. A CPJ special report by...
Gambian journalist sentenced to two years in prison
November 23, 2016 2:06 PM ET
A Gambian court on November 8, 2016, convicted Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay, an exiled radio journalist and manager of community station Taranga FM, of three counts of sedition and spreading false news, according to media reports. The court, convicting the journalist in absentia, sentenced Ceesay to two years in prison and...
Gambian journalist, broadcast executive held without charge
November 18, 2016 5:32 PM ET
Abuja, Nigeria, November 18, 2016--Gambian authorities should immediately release a journalist and the head of the state-owned broadcaster who have been held without charge or access to their families or lawyers for a week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The arrests came in the run-up to presidential elections...
World Refugee Day: Fear of arrest drives journalists into exile
June 16, 2016 9:49 AM ET
In August 2014 two journalists living more than 4,000 miles apart slipped across a border to find safety: one with his wife and three children, the other alone. Idrak Abbasov, from Azerbaijan, and Sanna Camara, from Gambia, faced imprisonment because of their reporting. Neither has been able to return home....
Global Magnitsky Act could be powerful weapon against impunity in journalist murders
May 24, 2016 1:41 PM ET
Last week, the proposed Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act emerged from the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee with approval. The bill was passed by the Senate last year. If passed by the full House of Representatives and signed into law by the president, it has the potential to...