Media stakeholders from the Gambia Press Union (GPU) and other organizations including The Fatu Network met with President Adama Barrow on November 4 to address pressing issues concerning press freedom, professional standards, and media sustainability.
A highlight of the meeting was President Barrow’s decision to drop the civil defamation case against The Voice newspaper and its Editor-in-Chief Musa Sheriff, following concerns about the case’s potential impact on press freedom. “A free and independent media is essential to our democracy,” President Barrow acknowledged.
The media representatives also urged the government to prioritize reforms in media laws, referencing a 2018 ECOWAS court ruling that deemed certain Gambia’s media regulations incompatible with journalists’ rights.
