Gambia: Opposition want strategy to end impunity

A Living Mirror, a book on the life of Deyda Hydara by Demba Ali Jawo and Aloe Ahmed Alota (Photo: The Point)

ECOWAS court rules Gambia failed to investigate journalist murder

The son of the late journalist Deyda Hydara, in blue, stands outside the ECOWAS court with his lawyers. (CPJ/Peter Nkanga)

CPJ - Abuja, Nigeria, June 10, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today's ruling by a West African regional court, which found that the Gambian government failed to conduct a meaningful investigation into the murder of journalist Deyda Hydara. The ruling is the first ECOWAS case relating to the murder of a Gambian journalist.

Hydara, the founder of the independent newspaper The Point, was shot dead by unidentified assailants as he drove home from his office in the capital, Banjul, on December 16, 2004. Hydara, a regular critic of President Yahya Jammeh's harsh policies, had received multiple death threats in the months leading up to his death. His murder remains unsolved.