Consequently,
defamation
the Court
and
false
directs that the legislations
news
publication
of
The
on sedition,
Gambia
be
criminal
libel,
reviewed
and
decriminalized to be in conformity with the international provisions on freedom of
expression and in consonance with the Defendants obligation under Article 1 of the
Charter.
Whether in the circumstances of this case, the Defendant has violated the rights
of the Plaintiffs as alleged.
The 2"-5" Applicants alleged that they were ar
sted and umawfully detained, with
the 4" and 5" Applicants being subjected to torture by the agents of the Defendant
while in detention. This arrest and detention was predicated on the seditious, libel
and false news laws of the Gambia. The Applicants further argued that these laws
are in violation
of their rights as journalists, right to liberty and
freedom
of
expression as they are still in exile for fear of being re-arrested in the cause of
exercising their rights as journalists.
The requirement of lawfulness is not satisfied merely by compliance
with the
relevant domestic law; the application of domestic laws in a case of arrest and
detention must itself be in conformity with the international provisions.
An arrest done in conformity with the law is deemed lawful until such laws are
repealed. In the instant case, though the arrest of the Applicants were carried out in
48