Gambia:Final judgement in the case of Chief Manneh on June 5

Press Statement: Judgement in the case of Chief Manneh on June 5

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria, will on June 5, 2008, deliver its verdict in the case of the "disappeared" Gambian journalist, Chief Ebrima Manneh.

The Government of The Gambia, which is the defendant in the case, has throughout the proceedings refused to cooperate with the ECOWAS Court, and the judgement will therefore be given without the testimonies of five state agents, who failed to make an appearance before the court on March 11, 2008.

Manneh, a former reporter of the pro-government Banjul-based Daily Observer newspaper, has been missing since July 2006. He was reportedly arrested by Gambian security personnel, but was never arraigned before any court, nor was he charged with any offence.

The regime of President Yahya Jammeh has consistently denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of the journalist, even though Manneh was arrested at the Daily Observer premises in the presence of his colleagues. He has since been sighted several times in the custody of state security personnel.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in June, 2007, filed a complaint at the ECOWAS court to compel the government of President Jammeh to produce Manneh and to answer for his arrest and subsequent disappearance.

MFWA
Accra
Tel: 233 21 24 24 70
Fax : 233 21 221084
Website : www.mediafound.org
Email : [email][email protected]