Sarata Jabbi-Dibba is a powerful inspiration to us at Radio Free Africa.

On September 3, 2009, Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, vice president of the Gambia Press Union and reporter for the independent newspaper, The Point, was granted a presidential pardon and released from prison. Dibba, along with six other journalists, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for defaming President Jammeh. The sedition charges stemmed from an incident in which the GPU issued a statement criticizing the president for slandering the memory of the late Deyda Hydara, editor of The Point, who was brutally murdered in 2004.

At the time of the arrest June 15, 2009 Dibba was still nursing her 7 month old son. She was allowed to have her son with her the first three days. Prison officials took him away on the third day. Dibba and her lawyer went to the prison director. The director relented and allowed family members to bring her son to the prison for breast-feeding.

Since her release, Dibba has resumed writing her column, “She, She, She”, which addresses women’s issues. It was her late editor, Deyda Hydara, who supported Dibba when she started the column. Dibba attributes Hydara as her reason for going into journalism.

In a country where journalists are under serious threats and subject to an array of human rights abuses, the courage displayed by Dibba and her colleagues is laudable. Their fallen comrade, Deyda Hydara lost his life fighting for press freedom. Hydara was killed one day after publishing an article railing against two new Gambian laws that infringed upon freedom of expression. His killers were never found. The six journalists remain committed to his memory even if it means losing their own freedom.