2. ANALYSIS BY THE COURT The Complaint is brought by the Plaintiffs against the government of Gambia, a member of the ECOWAS, on the grounds of unlawful detention, arrest and violation of Human Rights of Journalists across The Gambia. The 1st Plaintiff/Applicant is a leading representative body of Journalists in Africa and was granted official NGO Observer status by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in April, 2013. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th and 5th Plaintiffs/ Applicants are Gambian Nationals and Citizens of the Economic Community of West African States. (ECOWAS). The 1st Plaintiff avers, that the Gambian government has relied upon its sedition laws (section 51, 52 and 52a of the Criminal Code), criminal libel law (section 178, 179, 180 and 181a of the communication Act) to detain, arrest, and convict journalist across The Gambia on multiple occasions over the past 15 years. The 2nd Plaintiff avers, that she was unlawfully arrested and detained on 15 th September 2013 by the officers of The Gambian National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Sometime in October 2013, she was charged and convicted falsely of being a source of an article published, relating to the Gambian President and was required to provide bail of GMD 5,000,000. 9