Chief Ebrima MannehThe Gambia
Chief Ebrima Manneh, 34, was a senior reporter for the Banjul, Gambia-based Daily Observer. He was arrested by the Gambian National Intelligence Agency on July 7, 2006, and has since been held incommunicado.
The Gambian government refuses to divulge the precise reason for his arrest; however, Mr. Manneh’s detention is likely related to his attempt to republish a BBC News article that traces the source of Gambian President Alhaji Yanya Jammeh’s power to a 1994 coup.
Information on Mr. Manneh’s current condition is limited. According to the last available information, however, he suffers from grave health problems. Mr. Manneh has been held in solitary confinement in dehumanizing conditions. He is also at serious risk of being tortured. According to the U.S. State Department, Gambian security forces torture defendants with “electrocution, cigarette burns, plastic bags held over people’s heads, knife wounds, cold water treatments, and threats of being shot.”
Organizations worldwide have condemned Mr. Manneh’s unjust detention. Amnesty International labeled Mr. Manneh a prisoner of conscience. The Media Foundation of West Africa filed a petition on Mr. Manneh’s behalf before the Community Court of Justice (CCJ) of the Economic Community of West African States. On June 5, 2008, the CCJ issued a judgment declaring Mr. Manneh’s detention to be in violation of international law. Under the binding order, The Gambia must release Mr. Manneh and pay $100,000 in damages to his relatives. The Gambian government, which did not defend itself in the CCJ proceedings, continues to ignore the ruling.
Freedom Now represents Mr. Manneh as his international pro bono legal counsel along with the international law firm Hogan Lovells US LLP.
- Selected documents from Chief Ebrima Manneh's case
- Freedom Now Press ReleaseNovember 18, 2009
Announcing the opinion of the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
- Holding the Free Press Hostage in Gambia, The Guardian (Nigeria)December 7, 2009
Op-ed by Jeremy Zucker and Brendan Groves
- Opinion of the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention November 18, 2009
Finding the detention of Mr. Manneh a violation of international law