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Ebrima B. Manneh (February 18, 1978 –2008?) was a
Gambian journalist who was arrested in July 2006 and secretly held in custody.
In March 2019 the Gambian newspapers ''The Trumpet'' and "
The Point" newspaper reported that Manneh died in mid-2008 while being taken from a police station to the
Diabugu Batapa hospital. It is said that he was buried behind the local police station.
Background
A ''
Daily Observer'' reporter, Manneh was reportedly arrested by state security after attempting to republish a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
report criticizing President
Yahya Jammeh shortly before an
African Union meeting in
Banjul;
his arrest was witnessed by coworkers.
Though ordered to release Manneh by an
Economic Community Of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...
court, the Gambian government has denied that Manneh is imprisoned.
According to
AFP, an unnamed police source confirmed Manneh's arrest in April 2009, but added he believed Manneh "is no longer alive".
In June 2009, Manneh received the Special Award for journalism under threat from
Amnesty International.
Disappearance
The
Gambia Echo newspaper reported on January 13, 2007 that Manneh was in the Fatoto police station in December 2006. He is said to have been detained in various police stations in the country in the last five months before that, the last three in Fatoto. Meanwhile, human rights organizations, including
Reporters Without Borders, had drafted a petition to Gambian President Jammeh to secure Manneh's release. In recent months, the government had continued to deny knowing anything about Manneh's whereabouts. In late February 2007, a police spokesman spoke publicly about the Manneh case for the first time. However, this should never have been stopped at the named police stations. The police said they had received relevant statements from the population regarding Manneh's whereabouts.
When a journalist was investigating in April 2007, Manneh was no longer in
Fatoto it is said that he was relocated to an unknown destination in February. While police said they knew nothing about him, it was suggested that he had been transferred to
Kombo
Kombo was a kingdom and later a chieftaincy in Gambia during the colonial period. Kombo was part of the Mali Empire and gained independence after its fall, and was then ruled by the Sambou Bainunka clan. Mansa Karapha Yalli Jatta became the fi ...
at the time.
On March 16, 2011, President Jammeh is said to have made a statement to representatives of the press. At the time he claimed that the government had nothing to do with Chief Manneh's death ("Let me make it very clear that the government has nothing to do with Chief Manneh's death"). Rumors of the death spread as early as June 2009.
Amnesty International considers him to be a
prisoner of conscience and named him a 2011 "priority case". The
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...
has also called for his release and demanded that authorities account for his disappearance.
The Committee described his arrest as part of "a climate of fear created by the unsolved murder of prominent Gambian editor
Deyda Hydara
Deyda Hydara (June 9, 1946 – December 16, 2004) was a co-founder and primary editor of '' The Point'', a major independent Gambian newspaper. He was also a correspondent for both AFP News Agency and Reporters Without Borders for more than 30 ...
, a series of unsolved arsons of media houses, and a pattern of government intimidation and prosecution of journalists."
In January of 2017, his family was informed of his death.
See also
*
List of people who disappeared
Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enfo ...
References
2000s missing person cases
Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by the Gambia
Disappeared journalists
Enforced disappearances
Gambian journalists
Gambian prisoners and detainees
Missing people
Missing person cases in Africa
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