THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA’S COMBINED REPORT ON THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN & PEOPLES’ RIGHTS & INITIAL REPORT ON THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA subjected to intimidation, imprisonment, exile, unlawful killings such as the killing of enforced disappearance of activists2, and torture3. Civil society activists, religious leaders and trade unionists as well were all arrested and detained for criticizing the Government. The Media was stifled in the most blatant manner just because it sought to inform and enlighten The Gambian people. Newspapers and Radio Stations were arbitrarily shut down; journalists were routinely arrested, jailed and sometimes put incommunicado and oftentimes tortured. Media houses were reportedly attacked by masked men at their premises and in some instances, their press equipment were set on fire simply because they wrote stories and editorials the former President did not like. The Citizen FM Radio and Independent Newspaper incidents in 1998 and 2004 Citizen FM Radio was a privately-owned radio station which fell under attack in 1998 when heavily armed security forces stormed the offices of Mr Baboucar Gaye, Proprietor of the Radio Station and put the Station under lock and key while Mr Gaye was put under arrest. He was later tried and found guilty of operating a radio station without a licence contrary to Section 7 (1) of the Telegraph Stations Act 1913. Mr Gaye successfully appealed against the decision of the trial Court but the State disregarded the ruling of the Appellate Court and forcibly confiscated and permanently shut down the radio station. In the same vein, the Independent Newspaper, a privately-owned Media house, was also forced to stop publishing when in April 2004, all its printing press were burnt to ashes in an unsolved arson attacked. Further, in its attempt to muzzle freedom of expression, the former regime enacted many laws with the purpose of restricting freedom of expression. For instance, in December of 2004, the National Assembly of The Gambia amended the News Paper Act by increasing the bond amounts for private newspapers from D100,000 to D500 000. Furthermore, in July 2013, the National Assembly of The Gambia passed the Information and Communication (Amendment) Act 2009 and it is provided therein that internet users, journalists and bloggers found guilty of spreading false news or making derogatory statement, inciting dissatisfaction, or instigating violence against the Government or public officials will face 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 2 3 Such as the enforced disappearance of Ebrima Manneh in 2009 and others. For instance, the torture of a Gambian Journalist Musa Saidykhan in 2012. 52