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ECOWAS Court Adjourns “Disappeared” Gambian journalist’s Case
The
Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) on January 31, 2008 again adjourned the case of Chief
Ebrima Manneh, a Gambian journalist of the pro-government Banjul-based
Daily Observer newspaper, to March 13, 2008.
This marks the fourth adjournment of the matter in the last three
months.
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Femi
Falana,
Handling the Case at the ECOWAS Cour
The
adjournment, according to the Court, is to enable it summon the two
personnel of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) who allegedly
arrested
Manneh on July 7, 2006 at the Daily Observer premises,
to testify. The court also said it needed time to translate new evidence
it had received from Manneh’s counsel into the French language.
On November 28 it adjourned sitting to January 31,
2008 saying it should be given enough time to write its judgment on the
case. The decision was taken by a panel of three judges after hearing
the final submission from Manneh’s lawyer, Femi Falana, a Nigerian human
rights lawyer and President of the West African Bar Association (WABA).
The Court had on November 26, heard testimonies from
three witnesses, one of whom testified that he witnessed the arrest of
Chief Manneh by personnel of the notoriously feared National
Intelligence Agency (NIA) on July 7, 2006 at the premises of Daily
Observer newspaper.
Earlier, on November 20, the Court had deferred
judgment till November 26, 2007 because one of the three judges who
heard the case fell ill and had to travel abroad for treatment.
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President
Yahyah Jammeh of The Gambia
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the Accra, Ghana-based freedom
of expression organization filed a suit at the sub-regional court to
compel the government of President Yahya Jammeh to immediately release
and produce Manneh from arbitrary detention since July 2006.
In the suit, MFWA sought a
declaration that Manneh’s arrest on July 11, 2006 is illegal and
unlawful as it violates Article 6 of the African Charter, which
guarantees his right to personal liberty while his continued detention
since then also violates Articles 1, 4, 5 and 7 of the Charter.
MFWA also asked the Court to
make an order directing the Government of The Gambia or its agents to
immediately release him from custody and pay him US$5 million as
compensation for the violation of his rights to dignity, personal
liberty and fair hearing.
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