Mrs Elizabeth Ya Eli Harding 
High Commissioner 
The Gambia High Commission 
57 Kensington Court 
London W8 5DG 
UK 

Your Excellency

I am deeply concerned for the well-being of Ebrima B. Manneh, a journalist who was arrested by plainclothes police at the offices of the Daily Observer newspaper in July 2006. He has never been charged or tried and his whereabouts have never been revealed. 
 
I call for his immediate and unconditional release. Ebrima is a prisoner of conscience, arrested solely for peacefully exercising his internationally recognised right to freedom of expression. If your government is not able to identify Ebrima’s whereabouts or fate, I urge you to allow a thorough, independent investigation into what has happened to him. 
 
I would like to remind you that the ECOWAS Court of Justice held his detention to be in direct violation of provisions of the African Charter, to which your country is a signatory. Please implement the court’s ruling that he should be released immediately and awarded damages for his illegal detention. 
 
I believe that Ebrima’s case highlights a wider problem in the Gambia, where a number of journalists have been arbitrarily arrested and held incommunicado and without charge.  I urge you to release them immediately and in future to recognise and respect the right to freedom of expression and a fair trial in the Gambia. 
 
I look forward to hearing from you on these important matters.

Yours sincerely,