GPU Welcomes Release of Six Journalists

Ndey Tapha Sosseh, President of The Gambia Press Union: The Union will maintain its campaign for press and media freedoms

The Gambia Press Union welcomes the news of the release of all six Gambian journalists who were Thursday August 6, convicted and imprisoned on six counts of defamation and sedition on Presidential pardon.

The six, Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, Emil Touray and Pa Modou Faal, GPU vice president, secretary general and treasurer respectively, Pap Saine and Ebou Sawaneh, Publisher and Editor of the Point Newspaper, Sam Sarr, Editor, Foroyaa newspaper who were released yesterday 21:00 hrs GMT were considered prisoners of conscience by the Union.

We salute their courage, perseverance and determination of personal sacrifice as a contribution to our fight for media and its related freedoms in The Gambia.
As Emil Touray, GPU Secretary General succinctly put it yesterday, the Union has and will continue to make efforts, as partners in development to “engage the Gambia Government and security institutions with a view to ensuring media law reforms, improved media/security relations and to improve the status and welfare of journalists.”

We thank the hundreds of Gambian individuals, Gambian institutions at home and abroad, international journalist, media, human rights and other institutions, in particular, the International Federation of Journalists, the Federation of African Journalists, the West African Journalists Association, national journalist associations and unions, the Media Foundation for West Africa, IFEX, Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Sans Frontiers, GAMES, Media Helping Media, Amnesty International, Open Society Justice Initiative, OSIWA, the Media Legal Defence Initiative and the International Trade Union Confederation for their overwhelming moral, technical and financial support.

The support and intervention of the international community, notably foreign missions in The Gambia and Senegal, the governments of United Kingdom and the United States, the EU Presidency and the office of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights Special Rappatoeur on Freedom of Expression is greatly appreciated.

Though appreciative of the release of our colleagues, the Union will maintain its campaign for press and media freedoms, freedom of expression and, the Constitutionally guaranteed rights of Gambian journalists to work without intimidation and harassment