Six jailed Gambian journalists freed

Six journalists – all members of the Gambia Press Union – who were given two-year jail sentences on sedition charges on 6 August were released yesterday evening from prison, after receiving a pardon from President Yahya Jammeh, Reporters Without Borders reports.
“The happy ending must not be allowed to eclipse the injustice these six leading journalists suffered,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Despite being innocent, they spent a month in prison, far from their families and, in some cases, at a danger to their lives because of poor health. We hope they can now be safely reunited with their families and colleagues and that, in the wake of this pardon, the president will now loosen the vice on the Gambian media.”
The six freed journalists are: Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, Gambia Press Union vice-president, Emil Touray, GPU secretary-general, Pa Modou Fall, GPU treasurer, Pap Saine, publisher of the independent newspaper The Point and Reuters correspondent , Ebrima Sawaneh, The Point editor, Sam Sarr, editor of the opposition newspaper Foroyaa.