(AFP) – 8 hours ago

BANJUL, Gambia — Gambia's President Yaya Jammeh, whose government is regularly criticised over violating press freedoms, on Wednesday warned journalists against tarnishing the image of the West African country.
"Any journalist who thinks that he or she can write whatever he or she wants, and go free, is making a big mistake", Jammeh told state owned GRTS television.
"If anybody is caught, he will be severely dealt with," Jammeh said.
Jammeh has ruled Gambia, the smallest nation on the African mainland, since he took power in a bloodless coup in 1994.
Gambia is regularly criticised for human rights violations, particularly freedom of the press.
The country ranks 137th out of 173 in a worldwide classification of press freedom set up by the Paris-based organisation Reporters Without Borders.
Currently, seven Gambian journalists are standing trial on charges of sedition and criminal defamation for criticizing Jammeh.
The Gambia Press Union last month issued a statement criticizing the comments he made in a television interview regarding the 2004 murder of prominent Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara.