Do the provisions of the laws of the Gambia on sedition,
criminal libel and false
news publication constitute an infringement on the human rights of the plaintiffs as
alleged?
The Plaintiffs urge this Court to declare sections 51, 52, 52A, 59, 173A,
181 and
181A of the Criminal Code, Cap
inconsistent
ECOWAS
with
and
a breach
of The
179, 180,
10:10 of 2009 Laws of The Gambia
Gambian
obligations
as
a member
of
to protect Human rights and comply with its international obligations.
In urging this court to do this they aver that the defendant in applying the laws
interfered with their rights as journalists by instilling fear of potential arrest and
prosecution in them thereby having a chilling effect on their freedom of expression
as journalists.
Acknowledging the fact that the restriction is contained in the law they contend that
that is not enough as the law has to be formulated with sufficient precision. They
contend that the definition of seditious intention is based on subjective reactions of
the reader while definition of defamatory matter under section 179 does not establish
an objective standard as to enable the writer determine ahead of the publication
whether the publication will fall within the definition of defamatory matter.
Referring to the provision of sections 59 and 181A on false news, they submit that
the possibility of error in journalistic work cannot be avoided and as such the
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