THE GAMBIA - Deyda Hydara The death of a journalist under surveillance May 2005 Investigation: Leonard Vincent Reporters Without Borders International Secrétariat Africa Desk 5, rue Geoffroy Marie 75009 Paris-France Tél. (33) 1 44 83 84 76 Fax (33) 1 45 23 11 51 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.rsf.org Trapped in its own absurd hypotheses, the offi cial investigation into the murder of Deyda Hydara has gone nowhere. Reporters Without Borders has tried to shed some new light on the case in this report. Our enquiries show that Hydara, the co-founder and editor of the inde- pendent newspaper The Point, had not only received death threats from individuals who he thought belonged to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) but also that he was under sur- veillance, almost certainly by the security for- ces, a few minutes before his murder. Five months have gone by since Hydara, who was also the correspondent of Agence France- Presse (AFP) and Reporters Without Borders, was fatally shot behind the wheel of his car in your allegations or else you will go to prison for Kanifi ng, a district of Greater Banjul, on the libel.” night of 16 December. But those who murde- red Gambia’s most respected journalist are still at large. Indeed, there is no indication that A journalist who was being they are being sought by the Gambian police. watched To get an update on the police investigation and to seek new information about the case, 2004 was already a trying year for Gambia’s Reporters Without Borders sent a representati- journalists before Hydara’s murder in Decem- ve to Banjul and Dakar from 25 April to 4 May.