By Kebba Jeffang
The administration of The Gambia Press Union School of Journalism, has urged the Gambia Government to act fast in implementing the verdict of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, on the Gambia’s criminal libel, sedition and false news laws, in a statement on February, 19th 2018.
“This is good news coming at a time when the Government of the Gambia has expressed its intention to reform media laws in the country. On that note, we humbly call on the relevant authorities to quickly act on the judgment to “immediately repeal or amend” these laws to meet international standards,” the statement indicated.
The statement quoted the GPU president’s reaction, describing the ruling as ‘timely.’
“It comes at a time when we are working closely with Government and other media stakeholders with a view to reforming the media laws,” Touray said.
For his part, the Managing Director of the school Sang Mendy, said the media and journalists play a crucial role in society and any enforcement of criminal laws against journalists for carrying out their duties, will jeopardize journalism’s relevance.
The case of journalists Fatou Camara, Fataou Jaw Manneh, Alhagie Jobe and Lamin Fatty was led by the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ). The UK-based Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI), took the initiative in 2015 and worked with a team of lawyers abroad and in Nigeria.
