On 28 March last year, the country's leading independent voice, 'The Independent', the Gambia real estate flagship was closed down by security forces and its editors were arrested and tortured. Since then, all news are censored in The Gambia.

Exactly one year ago, the offices of 'The Independent' were raided by Gambian security forces. The newspaper's equipment and archives were confiscated and the building sealed off. Senior staff, including editor Musa Saidykhan and general manager Madi Ceesay, were arrested without charges.

Weeks went by and the hope of seeing the outspoken newspaper reopened dwindled. Even worse, nothing was heard about the 'Independent' staff and their whereabouts were unknown. Colleagues in The Gambia and around the world feared the worst. Only in December 2004, Gambian security agents were accused of assassinating the country's then most outspoken and leading newspaper editor, Deyda Hydara, of 'The Point'.

'The Independent' remains closed. Also the country's only remaining independent newspaper, 'The Point' led by Mr Hydara's successor Pap Saine, had to resort to self-censorship. The formerly proud 'Daily Observer' had already been infiltrated by President Yahya Jammeh's agents and turned into a shameless government mouthpiece. The outspoken private radio 'Citizen FM' had already lost its licence. Gambia by mid-2006 was silenced, and it remains so.