ECOWAS court rules Gambia violated rights of journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Gambian
government to act on a judgment passed today by the Court of
Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
to immediately repeal its laws on criminal libel, sedition, and
false news.

ECOWAS found that Gambia’s laws criminalizing speech and its
treatment of four journalists during their arrest violated their
rights, a statement by the Media Legal Defence Initiative said. The
journalists– Fatou Camara, Fataou Jaw Manneh, Alhagie Jobe, and
Lamin Fatty–live in exile for fear of further persecution, the
statement said.

“We are delighted with today’s judgment and see it as helping to
close the door on the harassment of the press under Gambia’s then
President Yahya Jammeh,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela
Quintal. “Gambia’s government, under President Adama Barrow, must
ensure there are no delays in acting on the ECOWAS judgment so that
the media can operate freely without fear of reprisal.”

CPJ and partner organizations filed an amici curiae brief to
ECOWAS as part of the case.

The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Gambian
government to act on a judgment passed today by the Court of
Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
to immediately repeal its laws on criminal libel, sedition, and
false news.

ECOWAS found that Gambia’s laws criminalizing speech and its
treatment of four journalists during their arrest violated their
rights, a statement by the Media Legal Defence Initiative said. The
journalists– Fatou Camara, Fataou Jaw Manneh, Alhagie Jobe, and
Lamin Fatty–live in exile for fear of further persecution, the
statement said.

“We are delighted with today’s judgment and see it as helping to
close the door on the harassment of the press under Gambia’s then
President Yahya Jammeh,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela
Quintal. “Gambia’s government, under President Adama Barrow, must
ensure there are no delays in acting on the ECOWAS judgment so that
the media can operate freely without fear of reprisal.”

CPJ and partner organizations filed an amici curiae brief to
ECOWAS as part of the case.