Gambian police arrest lecturer over newspaper interview

Gambian police arrested a university lecturer and kept him in overnight detention for questioning President Adama Barrow’s ability to maintain national security in a newspaper interview.

Ismaila Ceesay, an outspoken political science lecturer at the University of The Gambia, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and charged with incitement to violence after several hours of questioning.

“I was released this morning. My lawyer said they have told him that they have dropped the charges and that they would apologise,” he told AFP.


Campaigners said the arrest was a worrying echo of restrictions on freedom of speech under the former regime of Yahya Jammeh, who was forced to leave the West African country for exile in Equatorial Guinea a year ago.

The new government has repeatedly promised to protect human rights, including freedom of expression and press freedom, which were tightly controlled under Jammeh.

The Gambia’s information ministry said on Thursday it “acknowledged” the lecturer was taken in for questioning, and addressed criticism over his right to free speech.

“The government wishes to reassure Gambian citizens and non-Gambians resident in the country that their fundamental rights to free expression as enshrined in the Constitution will be respected,” their statement said.