Gambia's ex-Info minister arrested but police deny
Gambia’s former Information Minister Amadou Scattred Janneh has reportedly gone missing after his arrest early this week, but the police have denied this.
According to the French news agency (AFP) Janneh, who is also a US citizen, has been missing since Tuesday after he was said to have been arrested by plainclothes policemen.
Family members, friends and colleagues told the AFP that the 48-year-old former minister was arrested after he arrived at his workplace in Serrekunda near the Gambian capital, Banjul.
"Five plainclothes policemen, who did not identify themselves, entered the office and asked staff to leave. We all went outside and they took him with them after locking the office," said one employee on condition of anonimity.
A family member said he had not been seen since that day and did not know the reason behind his detention.
But the AFP quotes Gambia’s police spokesman Yerro Mballow as saying they were not aware of his arrest and have no idea where former Information Minister Amadou Janneh was.
"Five plainclothes policemen, who did not identify themselves, entered the office and asked staff to leave. We all went outside and they took him with them after locking the office," said one employee on condition of anonimity.
A family member said that he had not been seen since that day and did not know the reason behind his detention.
Ghana-based Media Foundation For West Africa (MFWA) linked Janneh's arrest to a series of conferences he gave recently that were critical of the government.
In a statement, the MFWA said at a May 25 conference at the University of The Gambia he "denounced the frequent disappearances of people as well as piracy acts and bans against Gambian dailies on the Internet."
Janneh worked in the government of President Yahya Jammeh as communications minister (July 2005 and May 2006. President Jammeh has been frequently criticised for his iron grip on the country and various human rights abuses.
A Gambian journalist, Chief Ebrima Manneh, who worked for the pro-government Daily Observer, went missing in July 2006.
