A woman's short ecstasy

Njola was a widow who lost her husband eight years ago. She lived in a dilapidated house with her children.

Njola as a woman and a mother had lived a joyous life with her husband before his untimely death. She later fell into the hands of his womaniser boss who was just interested in abusing her and left her to die a sympathetic death. Many a woman has died a similar death.

Njola's story

Njola has been a pride of her family when she got married to Sutuko, a construction consultant who worked with an engineering company, immediately after the completion of her senior secondary school.

Her husband's talent had saved the engineering company a fortune during his seven years of service. The young consultant enjoyed life with his wife. He always felt proud of her among her peers. He found Njola as a virgin when they got married. This earned Njola respect both in her family and that of sutuko.

No sooner was her husband elevated to the position of chief consultant than his services were terminated. Neighbours, relatives and friends attributed it to superstition.

Detained radio station manager charged with sedition, remanded

Mr Ceesay

Abdoulie Ceesay, Managing Director of Taranga FM, who has been in the custody of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) since July 17, was arraigned at a lower court in Banjul yesterday charged with a single count of “seditious intention.”

 Police prosecutors alleged that, on or about the July 16, Ceesay distributed pictures of the Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to two persons, Zainab Koneh and Fatou A. Drammeh, using his Africell mobile SIM card. The said picture showed a gun pointing at President Jammeh.

 According to the prosecutors, by distributing the pictures, Ceesay had the intention to “raise discontent, hatred or disaffection among the inhabitants of The Gambia.”

Journalist detained for article on Ivorian president’s wealth

 Joseph Gnahoua Titi, managing editor of the Aujourd'hui newspaper, appeared before an examining magistrate in Cote d’Ivoire for “disseminating false information" and “libel against the head of state.”

 Before being arrested and detained at the Abidjan Remand Home and Prison on July 29, Titi was summoned together with his editor-in-chief, Séverine Blé, on July 28. The two were summoned to explain a publication in Aujourd'hui. Titi was questioned for nearly five hours.

 The said article, published on July 21 and titled "President Ouattara is extremely rich. His wealth is estimated at 17 billion US dollars,” allegedly “impugned the integrity” of Ivorian President Alassanne Ouattara.

UN rights experts hail Zambia’s move away from death penalty, but warn of “areas of concern” in Africa

Two United Nations human rights experts welcomed a recent decision by the President of Zambia, Edgar Lungui, to commute the death sentences of 332 individuals to life imprisonment. The UN Special Rapporteurs on summary executions, Christof Heyns, and on torture, Juan E. Méndez, also encouraged the Zambian authorities “to take a step further by removing all reference to the death penalty in the country’s laws.”   

President Lungui commuted the sentences after his visit to Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison, which despite a capacity of 51 inmates, houses hundreds. 
“By commuting these death sentences, the Zambia puts a stop to mental and physical pain and suffering, and takes an important step towards ensuring respect for the inherent dignity of the human person,” Mr. Mendez said. 

“This decision is in line with the trend in Africa – as in the rest of the world – to move away from the death penalty. As the Secretary General of the UN has said, there is no room for this form of punishment in the 21st Century,” Mr Heyns said. 

Release of journalist Alagie Sissay confirmed

 

Mr Sisay

Gambia Press Union confirmed yesterday that the managing director of Teranga FM radio station, Mr Alagie Sisay has been released after twelve days in the custody of the state.

"He was dumped in the streets of Yundum, near the Airport, at 11pm, where his family picked him after he telephoned to inform them of his release, says Saikou Jammeh secretary general of the union.

"Although Mr Sisay has given no further details regarding his ordeal, his family confirmed that no criminal charge was leveled against him. It has also been confirmed that he was not in good health conditions and had to undergo check-up at a medical facility. "

On 2 July, Sisay, manager of the community radio station Taranga, was at his compound close to the radio station, when he was informed by a friend that two men in plain clothes were looking for him at the station near his house. When Ceesay went to talk to them, his friend also tried to follow the exchange but was told by two men to go away.

"The prolonged detention of Mr Sisay is an infringement on his constitutional right not to be detained beyond 72 hours. His apparent mistreatment is deeply regrettable," Jammeh added.

He said the GPU is committed to the protection and promotion of press freedom and freedom of expression.

Article 19 calls for the release of Taranga FM manager

Fatou Jagne Senghor

ARTICLE 19, a London-based human rights organization has call on the Gambian government to release Mr Alagie Ceesay, the manager of Taranga FM, a community radio based in Sinchu Alhagie, Kombo North District.

In a press statement issued yesterday, the regional director of ARTICLE 19 West Africa, Fatou Jagne Senghor said:  “We are disturbed by the disappearance of Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay, who has now been missing for ten days without any contact with his family or colleagues.”

According to Ms Senghor Mr Ceesay was picked up on 2 July by plain clothes officers at his residence in Sinchu. She calls on Gambian Authorities to provide information on the whereabouts of Ceesay, and to release him.

“David Kujabi, the Public Relations Officer of Banjul Police Station told ARTICLE 19 that Ceesay is not in police custody and if he was there, they would have allowed family to visit him. Subsequently, the NIA was contacted by ARTICLE 19, but did not provide any response.
From other local sources close to the family, and relatives who spoke to ARTICLE 19, Ceesay is believed to be in NIA custody; there are fears for his safety.

Gambia’s record on women’s rights to face scrutiny by UN committee

GENEVA – The Gambia’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on Thursday 9 July in meetings that will be webcast live.

The Gambia is one of the 189 States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and so is required to submit regular reports to the Committee of 23 independent experts on how it is implementing the Convention.

The Committee will engage in a dialogue with a delegation from the Gambian Government of on questions relating to the promotion and protection of women’s rights in the country, and will also hear from NGO representatives. The session will take place in Conference Room XVI at Palais des Nations in Geneva from 10:00 - 17:00 (08:00 – 15:00 in The Gambia).  The live webcast can be viewed at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/. 

Among the possible issues to be discussed are: Women’s access to justice; measures to tackle female genital mutilation and other forms of violence against women; measures to promote women’s participation in political and public life; decriminalization of abortion; support for women living with HIV/AIDS; situation of rural women; incompatibility of customary and personal laws with the Convention, particularly in regard to marriage, divorce and inheritance; measures to combat child and forced marriage

One year after arrest Zone 9 bloggers remain imprisoned as trial drags on

CPJ-It will be one year this weekend since six bloggers were arrested in Addis Ababa, just days after the group announced on Facebook that their Zone 9 blog would resume publishing after seven months of inactivity. As the anniversary of the arrests approaches on Saturday, Soleyana S. Gebremichale, one of the Zone 9 founders who was charged in absentia, told me the situation was not hopeless.

"International advocacy is important not only to pressure the Ethiopian government but also to show solidarity for people in prison," Soleyana, who is currently based in Washington, D.C., said. "The words and support that we show them are their strength in prison."

The six Zone 9 bloggers, arrested along with three journalists not connected to the blog, were held in detention until mid-July when a court in Addis Ababa charged all those being held, and Soleyana, with terrorism. Working with human rights organizations and participating in an email encryption training session were among the activities that led to the charges, according to reports. Their charge sheet, translated into English from Amharic, can be found here in full.

The Zone 9 bloggers--Befekadu Hailu, Atnaf Berhane, Natnail Feleke, Mahlet Fantahun, Zelalem Kibret, and Abel Wabella--and three journalists--Edom Kassaye, Tesfalem Waldyes, and Asmamaw Hailegeorgis--have now spent a full year in prison.

Among them is a lawyer and lecturer, an economist, and an IT specialist. One of them is a data expert in Ethiopia's Ministry of Health, another is an engineer for Ethiopian Airlines. They are writers, advocates, and activists, but the Zone 9 bloggers are not terrorists.

According to reports, these young professionals from a range of backgrounds were united by a desire for a more just, transparent, and democratic Ethiopia. The Zone 9 bloggers used their blog, which is still running, as a platform to write about social justice, democracy, and human rights. They spoke out about censorship and challenged corruption.

"Zone 9 existed because we had a hope that we could contribute for the public discourse," Soleyana told me.

The trial has been adjourned 26 times, most recently on April 8, according to a site that tracks its progress. The proceedings are scheduled to resume on May 26. According to the Trial Tracker Blog, which publishes news reports and details of campaigns about Zone 9, police continue to search for evidence to support the charges and failed to provide the defense with access to evidence they allegedly have. A request by the defense for the removal of judge, who the bloggers' lawyer said had been "unfair" throughout the trial, was rejected.

According to the same site, in some instances family and friends were allegedly prevented from entering the courtroom. The nongovernmental organization Ethiopia Human Rights Project reported that "Female detainees could not be visited by friends and relatives" and that when visits were permitted, they were limited to six people only, for a maximum of 20 minutes a day.

Ethiopian officials have repeatedly rejected external criticism of their handling of the Zone 9 case, according to news reports including this piece by The Washington Post. According to the Post, the government denied the bloggers were imprisoned for their writing, and said they were on trial for attempting to sabotage the state. This sentiment was echoed by Communication Affairs Minister Redwan Hussein who, at a press conference in May last year, said of the Zone 9 bloggers, "Most of them are not journalists but activists ... if someone engaged in criminal activities, he will face prosecution regardless of his profession."

Ethiopia, ranked fourth on CPJ's list of the 10 Most Censored Countries, has consistently demonstrated itself to be hostile to the idea of a free press, using charges of terrorism to justify long jail sentences of journalists. In a series of trials documented by CPJ over the past four years, deputy editor of Awramba Times, Woubshet Taye was sentenced to 14 years, freelance writer Eskinder Nega to 18 years, and Feteh journalist Reeyot Alemu to 14 years, reduced to five on appeal. Prison authorities were accused of denying adequate medical attention to Reeyot and Temesghen Desalegn, the owner of Feteh magazine. And in two reports released by Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto, researchers said Ethiopia appeared to have used malware and surveillance tools to try to monitor Ethiopian journalists around the world.

Soleyana welcomed international attention to her colleagues' plight. "Though it seems like the impact is slow and sometimes invisible I believe that the international pressure would contribute to change the decision of the Ethiopian government," she said.

Despite international criticism, Ethiopia has been defending its anti-terror laws for years. Speaking to the BBC in 2014, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn defended them as being similar to that of the UK terror laws. In 2012, the then Prime Minister Meles Zenawi defended the laws in Parliament. In response to a critical op-ed by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times, the country's Foreign Ministry argued that Ethiopia did respect press freedom, according to reports.

From Al-Shabab's attack at Garissa in Kenya this month and Boko Haram's relentless violence against Nigerians, to the senseless acts of groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, you don't have to look far to find examples of terrorism across the African continent.

But as former High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stressed in May last year, in response to Ethiopia's crackdown on the press, "The fight against terrorism cannot serve as an excuse to intimidate and silence journalists, bloggers, human rights activists and members of civil society organizations."

In a statement this week, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson, and the UN Special Rapporteur on religious freedom, Heiner Bielefeldt, said: "By actively promoting and protecting human rights, states contribute to preventing terrorism in an effort to address its root causes and risk factors."

At a time when national leaders should be protecting rights and providing reassurance from very real threats like these, many governments choose instead to crush those voices most in need of being heard. This has certainly been true in Ethiopia.

Source: CPJ