Journalists in prison as of December 1, 2008

THE GAMBIA: 1

"Chief" Ebrima Manneh, Daily Observer
IMPRISONED: July 7, 2006

Manneh, a journalist for the state-controlled Daily Observer, was arrested after he tried to publish a BBC report critical of President Yahya Jammeh. Manneh's colleagues witnessed his arrest by two plainclothes officers of the National Intelligence Agency on the premises of the Daily Observer. Gambian security agencies and police refused to provide information on his whereabouts, health, and legal status.

The Media Foundation for West Africa filed legal action in the Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States in 2007, seeking a court order compelling the government to release Manneh. Gambian authorities failed to attend the hearings. In November 2007, the court ordered the immediate release of Manneh and financial compensation for his family, but the Gambian government disregarded the ruling.

No sightings of Manneh were reported during the year, although some local journalists believed he was being held outside of the capital, Banjul.

In a CPJ report issued in October, former Daily Observer reporter Ousman Darboe recounted Manneh's arrest and described his own months-long effort to locate his colleague. Darboe later testified before the Community Court.

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