Glasgow based Gambian journalist Alieu Badara Ceesay, recently addressed the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) of UK at their annual delegates meeting.
Mr Ceesay, a former staff of pro-government Daily Observer newspaper, told his colleagues that the killing of a newspaper editor Deyda Hydara and the disappearance of journalist Ebrima Chief Manneh in The Gambia remain unresolved despite calls from the international community.
He asked for NUJ’s support for freedom of speech and a free press in his West African homeland- The Gambia.
Alieu spoke of his deep pride in being an NUJ member and commended the Union for its support for the seven Gambian journalists who had been jailed for criticizing Gambia’s President Jammeh in print.
“The biggest challenges for us are the systematic attacks on media and journalists. Draconian media laws have led to self-censorship,” Alieu said. “Journalists fear reprisals. I believe freedom of expression is a fundamental human rights for every person on this planet, but this rights  have been curtailed in The Gambia.”
A senior journalist and parliamentary reporter in The Gambia before he escaped to the UK, Alieu said: “I call on journalists in the UK to join hands in the struggle for press freedom and civil liberties in The Gambia.

“Newspapers and radio stations have been closed without court order. Such threats to journalists and journalism must be lifted,” he told the 300 delegates from the UK, Ireland and Europe at their conference in Southport.
With the help of the local Branch of the NUJ in Glasgow and the support of Amnesty International, he founded the UK Campaign for Human Rights in The Gambia.
The Campaign also took part in fringe meetings at the conference and Alieu met Jim Broumelha, President of the International Federation of Journalists among other key NUJ officials from the UK and Europe.