The ECOWAS Community Court hearing the case of torture brought by Musa Saidykhan, a Gambian journalist against the operatives of the Gambia’s notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA), on June 30, 2009 dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the Gambian government, the defendant in the case.

According to the Community court, Saidykhan is a citizen of West Africa and that the court is mandated by the ECOWAS protocol to hear human rights violation cases brought before it.

On the legal remedies, the three- member panel overruled a claim by the Gambian government that the plaintiff (Saidykhan) failed to exhaust the local remedies by making reference to its protocol authorizing it to hear cases by citizens of member states without having to exhaust remedies in local national courts.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in November 2007 brought the suit on behalf of Saidykhan in order to seek justice for him and also bring relief to many other Gambian journalists who had suffered similar fate and have escaped into exile for fear of repression

Commenting on the ruling Shola Egbeyinka, a member of the legal team of Saidykhan hailed the court’s ruling saying it is a boost for media freedom and would go a along way to protect journalists in the west African-sub region.

The Gambian government, who had previously boycotted the proceedings of the court on two occasions, was represented in court by Marie Saine-Firdaus, the country’s Attorney General.

Saidykhan, editor-in-chief of The Independent, a banned bi-weekly Banjul-based newspaper was arrested on the night of March 27, 2006, by a combined force of armed soldiers and policemen in his home and taken to the notoriously feared NIA headquarters. He was held incommunicado for 22 days without any charge. During this period he was tortured until he became unconscious. The continuous torture left scars on his back, legs, arms, and his right hand which was broken in three places.

The court fixed October 28, 2009 for the commencement of the trial.

Issued by the MFWA, Accra on June 30, 2009.