Ghana: Editor claims he was tortured

10 Jun 10 | Index Index, minipost

The editor of the Banjul-based The Independent newspaper, Musa Saidykhan, has informed judges that the people who tortured him in a 2006 incident were members of President Yahya Jammeh’s security forces.  On 3 June a community court heard that the editor was arrested by policeman then tortured by presidential security forces, rendering him unconscious for 30 minutes. Siadykhan had recently returned from a human rights forum in South Africa where he gave an interview detailing the killing of 44 Ghanaian nationals in 2005. The Media Foundation for West Africa (MWA) instituted the legal action on behalf of Saidykhan.

Gambian journalists jailed for defamation

07 Aug 09 | Index Index, minipost

Six journalists in Gambia have been jailed for two years each after being found guilty of criticising the country’s president. The journalists from the newspaper Foroyaa and weekly publication The Point were convicted of sedition and defamation for comments critical of President Yahya Jammeh. Read more here

A blip on the radar

16 Dec 08 | Comment, News and features


On the anniversary of the murder of independent journalist Deyda Hydara (right), Dawn Starin says the media must turn its attention to The Gambia, where free expression is increasingly under threat
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