Murder of Shopkeeper from The Gambia and The Bronx Yields 7 Year Sentence For SDNY Cooperator

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon

Honduras BBC The Times (UK) The Source 

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Nov 16 –   Bubacarr Camara came to The Bronx from The Gambia, hoping to bring his wife and son to join him. Every day he woke up and went to work in the BNC General Merchandise T-shirt Spot on Manhattan's Upper West Side, on Amsterdam Avenue near 104th Street.   

  Then in the middle of the day on June 18, 2015 he was shot and killed by robbers. Along with the $279 they stole from Bubacarr Camara, they also took the store's rudimentary video surveillance camera.  They threw the camera and storage device, but not the money, into the river.

    Four and a half years later on November 15, 2019 a man who pled guilty to the murder of Bubacarr Camara came up for sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge Paul G. Gardephe.

    In the gallery where Inner City Press was the only media, there were a number of Assistant US Attorneys but no family member or friend of Bubacarr Camara while he had been alive.    AUSA Jessica Feinstein, signing for US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman, had a week before written to Judge Gardephe that "we have been unsuccessful at contacting the family members of murder victim Bubacarr Camara."

    Of course, this can happen when sentencing takes place long after the murder and also long after the guilty plea. The government's letter gives no indication of any attempt to reach Bubacarr's friends or co-workers such as Dong Kun Cho, or his many family members in The Gambia.

    Why in the courtroom's gallery along with Inner City Press were there detectives and Assistant US Attorneys? Was it to avenge Bubacarr Camara or avenge his distant family and still-young son?

No. It's that this defendant had, after the murder, agreed to cooperate with the US Attorney's office.

    Now he was asking to be released for "time served," and the US Attorney's office in context supported the request in their 5K1 letter.     Despite having covered the trial in which this defendant testified, Inner City Press is choosing here not to publish his name.

  His lawyer, whom we will also leave unnamed, argued that he will be in danger (though not as much, it must be noted, as Bubacarr Camara was at midday on the Upper West Side of Manhattan).

   AUSA Feinstein requested, and Judge Gardephe granted, the sealing of the transcript of the sentencing and most documents connected to it.

    The court docket is left with an indictment, under then US Attorney Preet Bharara, that did not even name the victim and decedent, Bubacarr Camara, and got the address of his place of work and place of death wrong, listing it as 2251 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan.

   While the US Sentencing Guidelines in this case of murder called for a life sentence - plus 15 years - Judge Gardephe imposed a sentence of seven years, which minus the 52 months to defendant has already served while cooperating with the government comes to 32 additional months, or two years and eight months.

    Seven years for a human life should be subject to scrutiny and public debate; certainly the victim's family, friends and community have a right to know, denied to them by the sealing of these records. It could have been worse, or more lenient: recently a man who bribed the United Nations, Francis Lorenzo, got time served at the urging of SDNY prosecutors, here.

    Inner City Press will have more on this. It is also covering at least three recent trials in which cooperating witnesses were used in exchange for 5K1 letters and requests for time served, starting with Daniel Hernandex a/k/a Tekashi 6ix9ine (who the US Attorney's Office also called a model cooperator), to be sentenced by SDNY Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on December 18. Inner City Press will live-tweet the proceeding if it can.

    Then there are those who took greater risk in testifying against the brother of Honduras' current president. One, Magdaleno, whose notebooks were introduced at trial before SDNY Judge P. Kevin Castel has since been assassinated in a supposedly maximum security prison in Honduras.

  It is unclear if the SDNY US Attorney's Office or DOJ have done anything about this crime which is presumptively traceable to the president of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez.

    Most recently Inner City Press has been covering the cooperation of OneCoin found Ruja Ignatova's brother Konstantin Ignatov, part of a $4 billion fraud. Inner City Press' coverage has been credited by the BBC, The Times (UK), Daily Mail, and in the crypto-currency media.   

   But who will cover this sentencing for the murder of Bronxite Bubacarr Camara originally from The Gambia? And not to write about it, even with this self-imposed restrictions, would be to become complicit in this very human life cut short right in Manhattan in the Southern District of New York, and to leave its judges and prosecutors without any oversight. Watch this site.

In SDNY Gambia Passport Scheme Comes To Trial A Month After Humanitarian Trip Denied

By Matthew Russell Lee, Periscope video, II III

FEDERAL COURTHOUSE, April 1 – Back on February 28 before his now begun trial for US passport fraud, Malamin Jagana asked U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Jed Rakoff to modify his bail to allow a trip to Gambia. His reason was humanitarian: to attend a ceremony with his wife who lives there for their baby who died in a miscarriage a year ago. As reported that day by Inner City Press, the only media present for the proceeding, his lawyer called the ceremony and the father's attendance a cultural requirement. The government opposed Jagana's trip, referring not to Gambia but to Africa as if it were a county: "He has connection to Africa... His wife lives in Africa." SDNY Judge Rakoff did not go "Africa Is A Country" but on risk of flight agreed, saying while "sympathetic to this tragic event... I don't think the risk of him not returning is anything other than huge. So the application is denied." On April 1, again with Inner City Press the only media in the courtroom as the trial in fact begun, Agent Nieves was questioned in several rounds about Jagana's passport moves through his and his brother's apartment at 31 Mount Hope Place in The Bronx, the claim of passport loss on a train in Europe as well as after soccer practice or "training" by Yankee Stadium, and a bag full of Gambian passports and certificates of good behavior. We'll have more on this. Earlier in February in the SDNY a Ugandan man who flown to the US with hands bound accused of renting his Entebbe property for a meth lab was sentenced in the SDNY to six years in prison. Before Judge Kevin Castel passed sentence, he heard the lawyer for Ismael Balinda argue that the chicken coop on the Entebbe property was not an "enclosure" for purposes of the statute, and emphasize that Balinda was in Nairobi with his wife, in the SDNY courthouse on February 12 along with Inner City Press and no other media, and only ran into his co-conspirators by chance. If so it was bad luck indeed. In a Declaration sworn to on 29 January 2018 Balinda stated that in Nairobi the car he was in was stopped and he was put in another car, then "I asked who they were, and one of the men told the other in Swahili that I was  asking who they are, at which point, the man talking to the cab driver walked over to us, put a gun to my head and said he would “blow my head” if I asked again...I was driven to the Special Branch in the center of Nairobi and told that I was  under arrest because I was with the “wrong people'... We were then told that we were under arrest by the US government and that we  had to do whatever was asked of us or we would be in trouble. 32. We were processed one at a time, put on the plane and our hands were zip-tied. 33. We were told not to speak to each other and after about eleven hours (during  which I slept briefly), they started questioning us, starting with me." And now, a six year jail term... Earlier in the week a Bronx mother of two was sentenced to 90 months in Federal prison on February 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District after arguing that the cold and lack of visitors in lock-up pending sentencing militated for a lesser sentence. SDNY Judge Valerie Caproni said that conditions in the MCC where the defendant Marilyn Vargas had been were better than in the MDC in Brooklyn which had been left without heat, see below. Marilyn Vargas said guards told her she was "the property of the BOP," the Bureau of Prisons, and that no visits were allowed during the government shutdown. Judge Caproni said that the shutdown was not that long, a month or six weeks. She questioned where Vargas had been working between 2000 and 2014, and why she had been driving a Lexus when caught "red handed" with twenty kilograms of cocaine. Vargas' lawyer replied that it was a used Lexus, in someone else's name. It was to no avail. Judge Caproni said Vargas seemed most sorry that she was caught, inferring from letters of support saying that Vargas has made a one-time mistake that Vargas had no come clean to her friends about the extend of her involvement in the drug trade. Vargas' two daughters, 30 and 19, were in the Thurgood Marshall courthouse proceeding. Vargas spoke before sentencing, near tears, citing her mother in Puerto Rico and desire to scare straight other single mothers in her Christian communities in The Bronx. While agreeing to recommend FCI Danbury, Judge Caproni went to the higher end of the sentencing guidelines, choosing 90 months from the range of 78 to 97 months. Marilyn Vargas was led out of the courtroom, her feet shackled. Inner City Press and the other attendees - no other journalists - were told to wait until Vargas was taken away on the elevator, seemingly with shackles re-applied to her wrists.  It stood in contrast to lighter sentences on corporate defendants, and impunity for diplomats and the UN as a whole. We'll have more on this. Back on February 5 when Judge Analisa Torres returned at 7:30 pm from the Brooklyn MDC to her courtroom in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, those assembled - six journalists, Federal Defenders, two named plaintiffs in tan prison guards - seemed to agree that something would happen, perhaps a ruling for a special master to oversee the MDC. 

  Judge Torres asked both Federal Defenders' Dierdre Dionysia von Dornum and the FBI's John Ross to describe that they'd seen on the visit to the MDC with her, which Latitia James also accompanied (though no journalists, despite requests in written and orally in the court). Ms von Dornum said the lights were on and it was warmer, but still no medical treatment and few lawyers' visits. The expectation of a ruling for a special master grew.

  But when Judge Torres issued her ruling, it concerned the failure of the two inmates to take the standard and provide even "a shred of evidence" of their claims, that one would face retaliation and the other needed a transfer on medical groups. When it was offered that thetestify now, past 8 pm, Judge Torres denied it, saying it was too late. An affidavit will be provided later but the moment was lost. The request for a special master, Judge Torres said, had been raised, and more appropriately, in the civil litigation in the Eastern District of New York - where, Inner City Press learned from a case participant who said "off the record" a meeting of all judges and the US Attorney took place, trying to solve "the whole situation." There was criticism of Nicole McFarland, of the continuing denial of medical treatment and timely lawyers' visits. But none of these were addressed much less solved on Tuesday night. Inner City Press retrieved its electronics, did a Periscope broadcast (here) and this story, from the stone chess (actually backgammon) table across Worth Street from the SDNY courthouse. We'll be here more.

Upcoming in the SDNY is a just-filed complaint by the Bangladesh Central Bank for the $81 million hacking of its funds, which were then wired through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a case that Inner City Press will cover. Times change. Watch this site.

After Gambia Coup Bid, UN Feltman's Visit Canceled, UNDP 404

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 10 – Going back to late December, the UN has said the coup attempt in Gambia was important to it, even as it was mis-reported. On February 4, the UN told Inner City Press its official Jeffrey Feltman was going to the country.

 On the morning of February 10, Inner City Press learned that the visit had not taken place, that by some accounts President Yahya Jammeh had canceled it, after publication of an article online.

 Inner City Press looked online and found an article that might have triggered this, calling the previous visit of the UN's Mohammed Chambas a failure, and saying "This time the UN is dispatching United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman to visit Banjul on 4 February 2015 for an audience with the country’s leader Yahya Jammeh, according to a press statement from the UNDP."

  So Inner City Press went to the website of the UN "country team" in Gambia, run by UNDP, but when one clicks "news" it leads to a message of "404." Failure.

 At the February 10 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq about all this. Video here.

  Back on February 4, having seen mention in the African press, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric:

Inner City Press: Can you confirm that Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman is going to Gambia on a follow-up to Mr. [Mohammed ibn] Chambas' visit?

Spokesman Dujarric:  I do believe he is in Gambia, and we will get more details.

Inner City Press:  And is there some reason that his schedule is not public? I mean, this was reported in the press there.  It seems when he goes places, he's representing the Secretary-General.

Spokesman:  I think we try to share his schedules.  Sometimes things fall through the cracks.  But, we try to be as open and transparent as we can

Inner City Press / FUNCA: Can you ask [the Department of Political Affairs] to put it online?

Spokesman:  Thousands of [Department of Political Affairs] staffers are probably watching this briefing.

Inner City Press:  I’m sure.

  Not only are Feltman's schedules not made public, as now formally requested by the Free UN Coalition for Access - just after this exchange, Ban Ki-moon held a lunch with scribes the Q&A of which has not been released. Click here for that.

The Gambia coup attempt was discussed for a second time in the UN Security Council on January 8, but discrepancies emerged.

On December 31, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that he “encourages the establishment of a transparent investigation into the events of 30 December, in compliance with due process and respect for the rule of law.”

  The call for a transparent investigation was missing from the January 8 briefing by UN official Chambas, who told the Security Council  “I am planning to visit Banjul on 14-15 January and meet with President Jammeh. I will reiterate our firm condemnation of any attempt to seize power by unconstitutional means, and encourage the Gambian authorities to work with the support of international partners, to ensure the credibility of judicial procedures and the respect of human rights.”

  Afterward Inner City Press asked Chambas about the different, and on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access about radio station Taranga FM, shut down during the coup bid and now told to play only music.

   Chambas told Inner City Press he had not heard of the station -- Inner City Press in the hallway urged him to tune it in while he is in Bangui, to see if it is only music -- and spoke of trying to liberalize West Africa. We'll see.

  Before 10 am on December 31, Ban Ki-moon issued a 123 word statement calling for restraint and an investigation of the attempt in the The Gambia, albeit not mentioning the name of the target of the coup, Yahya Jammeh.

  After the Security Council's 45-minute meeting, Inner City Press asked the Council's president who is supposed to do the investigation Ban had called for before the meeting. He responded that UN official Chambas will go to Banjul; Inner City Press later learned and published that this will take place on January 2.

  Reuters however reported that "Following brief talks at the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a transparent investigation into the events and also urged restraint."

 This is false. 

   Ban's statement was at 9:37 am; the Security Council meeting didn't start until 10 am, and didn't end until 10:45 am. (At that time, Inner City Press asked Ban's Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman for more detail; he replied that since Ban had issued a statement, he had nothing to add -- all too common at the UN, as pointed out and opposed by the Free UN Coalition for Access.)

  Reuters was not present at the UN Security Council stakeout before, during or after the meeting on Gambia (Tweeted photo here), and apparently not in the UN building either. The crediting on the above quoted story is"Reporting by David Lewis and Diadie Ba in Dakar, Lesley Wroughton in Washington, Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by David Lewis and Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Giles Elgood."

  Six journalists listed; one outright falsehood. What does Reuters do in these cases? We've asked management including Stephen J. Adler before, amid censorship, withno real answer. #ReutersFail.

  Since then, African Union commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has expressed "preoccupation" and rurged deepening "democracy and the respect for human rights."

  By the time of Ban's 9:37 am December 31 statement, later misrepresented by Reuters, the US had already issueda statement: “The United States is aware of reports of a coup attempt on December 30 in The Gambia. We strongly condemn any attempt to seize power through extra-constitutional means. We regret the loss of life and call on all parties to refrain from further violence.”

    Thirteen hours later when Ban Ki-moon issued his statement, he went a bit further and cited calm and called for an investigation, apparently by Jammeh's government itself:

“The Secretary-General is following closely developments in The Gambia. He reiterates the United Nations principled condemnation of all attempts to seize power through unconstitutional means. Referring to reports that indicate that the situation in Banjul is calm, he calls for all parties to exercise restraint and to refrain from further violence. 

“Noting the seriousness of any attempt to overthrow governments by force, the Secretary-General encourages the establishment of a transparent investigation into the events of 30 December, in compliance with due process and respect for the rule of law. In that regard, he urges the Government of The Gambia, and its security and defense forces to act in full respect for human rights. The United Nations will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

  When the UN Security Council meeting on the topic began at 10:10 am on December 31, there were tumbleweeds at the stakeout in front. Some may denounce The Gambia, but at the UN or at least in its press corp, there is not apparently much interest.

  When the meeting ended, in less than 45 minutes, Inner City Press asked Feltman about it. He said since the SG had issued a statement, he had nothing to add. In 2015, theFree UN Coalition for Access will be pressing for all UN Under Secretaries General to answer questions. 

  Finally, the Security Council's president for December, from Chad, came and summarized the meeting, saying that UN official Chambas, previously the head of UNAMID in Darfur, will file a report. There have been problems with UNAMID's reporting. 

 (Again in terms of micro-news, Inner City Press is exclusively told by sources that Chambas will go to Gambia on Friday, January 2. Since the UNSC President was asked on camera when Chambas would go and only said "soon," call it a coup scooplet.)

  Inner City Press asked the outgoing Security Council president about the December 30 closed door meeting about Sudan throwing out two UN officials, Yvonne Helle and Ali Al-Za'tari. He said he couldn't speak, nothing had been agreed to. Which is why the UN Secretariat should have spoken and taken questions, as FUNCA requestedand will continue to request in 2015. Watch this site.

    

After Gambia Coup Bid, UN Jeff Feltman's Quiet Trip, UNdisclosed, FUNCA Asks Why

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 4 – Going back to late December, the UN has said the coup attempt in Gambia was important to it, even as it was mis-reported. Now it seems the UN does not want to be reported at all.

  On February 4, having seen mention in the African press, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujaric:

Inner City Press: Can you confirm that Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman is going to Gambia on a follow-up to Mr. [Mohammed ibn] Chambas' visit?

Spokesman Dujarric:  I do believe he is in Gambia, and we will get more details.

Inner City Press:  And is there some reason that his schedule is not public? I mean, this was reported in the press there.  It seems when he goes places, he's representing the Secretary-General.

Spokesman:  I think we try to share his schedules.  Sometimes things fall through the cracks.  But, we try to be as open and transparent as we can

Inner City Press / FUNCA: Can you ask [the Department of Political Affairs] to put it online?

Spokesman:  Thousands of [Department of Political Affairs] staffers are probably watching this briefing.

Inner City Press:  I’m sure.

  Not only are Feltman's schedules not made public, as now formally requested by the Free UN Coalition for Access - just after this exchange, Ban Ki-moon held a lunch with scribes the Q&A of which has not been released. Click here for that.

The Gambia coup attempt was discussed for a second time in the UN Security Council on January 8, but discrepancies emerged.

On December 31, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that he “encourages the establishment of a transparent investigation into the events of 30 December, in compliance with due process and respect for the rule of law.”

  The call for a transparent investigation was missing from the January 8 briefing by UN official Chambas, who told the Security Council  “I am planning to visit Banjul on 14-15 January and meet with President Jammeh. I will reiterate our firm condemnation of any attempt to seize power by unconstitutional means, and encourage the Gambian authorities to work with the support of international partners, to ensure the credibility of judicial procedures and the respect of human rights.”

  Afterward Inner City Press asked Chambas about the different, and on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access about radio station Taranga FM, shut down during the coup bid and now told to play only music.

   Chambas told Inner City Press he had not heard of the station -- Inner City Press in the hallway urged him to tune it in while he is in Bangui, to see if it is only music -- and spoke of trying to liberalize West Africa. We'll see.

  Before 10 am on December 31, Ban Ki-moon issued a 123 word statement calling for restraint and an investigation of the attempt in the The Gambia, albeit not mentioning the name of the target of the coup, Yahya Jammeh.

  After the Security Council's 45-minute meeting, Inner City Press asked the Council's president who is supposed to do the investigation Ban had called for before the meeting. He responded that UN official Chambas will go to Banjul; Inner City Press later learned and published that this will take place on January 2.

  Reuters however reported that "Following brief talks at the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a transparent investigation into the events and also urged restraint."

 This is false. 

   Ban's statement was at 9:37 am; the Security Council meeting didn't start until 10 am, and didn't end until 10:45 am. (At that time, Inner City Press asked Ban's Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman for more detail; he replied that since Ban had issued a statement, he had nothing to add -- all too common at the UN, as pointed out and opposed by the Free UN Coalition for Access.)

  Reuters was not present at the UN Security Council stakeout before, during or after the meeting on Gambia (Tweeted photo here), and apparently not in the UN building either. The crediting on the above quoted story is"Reporting by David Lewis and Diadie Ba in Dakar, Lesley Wroughton in Washington, Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by David Lewis and Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Giles Elgood."

  Six journalists listed; one outright falsehood. What does Reuters do in these cases? We've asked management including Stephen J. Adler before, amid censorship, withno real answer. #ReutersFail.

  Since then, African Union commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has expressed "preoccupation" and rurged deepening "democracy and the respect for human rights."

  By the time of Ban's 9:37 am December 31 statement, later misrepresented by Reuters, the US had already issueda statement: “The United States is aware of reports of a coup attempt on December 30 in The Gambia. We strongly condemn any attempt to seize power through extra-constitutional means. We regret the loss of life and call on all parties to refrain from further violence.”

    Thirteen hours later when Ban Ki-moon issued his statement, he went a bit further and cited calm and called for an investigation, apparently by Jammeh's government itself:

“The Secretary-General is following closely developments in The Gambia. He reiterates the United Nations principled condemnation of all attempts to seize power through unconstitutional means. Referring to reports that indicate that the situation in Banjul is calm, he calls for all parties to exercise restraint and to refrain from further violence. 

“Noting the seriousness of any attempt to overthrow governments by force, the Secretary-General encourages the establishment of a transparent investigation into the events of 30 December, in compliance with due process and respect for the rule of law. In that regard, he urges the Government of The Gambia, and its security and defense forces to act in full respect for human rights. The United Nations will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

  When the UN Security Council meeting on the topic began at 10:10 am on December 31, there were tumbleweeds at the stakeout in front. Some may denounce The Gambia, but at the UN or at least in its press corp, there is not apparently much interest.

  When the meeting ended, in less than 45 minutes, Inner City Press asked Feltman about it. He said since the SG had issued a statement, he had nothing to add. In 2015, theFree UN Coalition for Access will be pressing for all UN Under Secretaries General to answer questions. 

  Finally, the Security Council's president for December, from Chad, came and summarized the meeting, saying that UN official Chambas, previously the head of UNAMID in Darfur, will file a report. There have been problems with UNAMID's reporting. 

 (Again in terms of micro-news, Inner City Press is exclusively told by sources that Chambas will go to Gambia on Friday, January 2. Since the UNSC President was asked on camera when Chambas would go and only said "soon," call it a coup scooplet.)

  Inner City Press asked the outgoing Security Council president about the December 30 closed door meeting about Sudan throwing out two UN officials, Yvonne Helle and Ali Al-Za'tari. He said he couldn't speak, nothing had been agreed to. Which is why the UN Secretariat should have spoken and taken questions, as FUNCA requestedand will continue to request in 2015. Watch this site.

    

After Gambia Coup Bid, Taranga FM Radio's All Music by Jammeh's Decree, UN Hasn't Heard, FUNCA Asks

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 8 – The Gambia coup attempt was discussed for a second time in the UN Security Council on January 8, but discrepancies emerged.

On December 31, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that he “encourages the establishment of a transparent investigation into the events of 30 December, in compliance with due process and respect for the rule of law.”

  The call for a transparent investigation was missing from the January 8 briefing by UN official Chambas, who told the Security Council  “I am planning to visit Banjul on 14-15 January and meet with President Jammeh. I will reiterate our firm condemnation of any attempt to seize power by unconstitutional means, and encourage the Gambian authorities to work with the support of international partners, to ensure the credibility of judicial procedures and the respect of human rights.”

  Afterward Inner City Press asked Chambas about the different, and on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access about radio station Taranga FM, shut down during the coup bid and now told to play only music.

   Chambas told Inner City Press he had not heard of the station -- Inner City Press in the hallway urged him to tune it in while he is in Bangui, to see if it is only music -- and spoke of trying to liberalize West Africa. We'll see.

  Before 10 am on December 31, Ban Ki-moon issued a 123 word statement calling for restraint and an investigation of the attempt in the The Gambia, albeit not mentioning the name of the target of the coup, Yahya Jammeh.

  After the Security Council's 45-minute meeting, Inner City Press asked the Council's president who is supposed to do the investigation Ban had called for before the meeting. He responded that UN official Chambas will go to Banjul; Inner City Press later learned and published that this will take place on January 2.

  Reuters however reported that "Following brief talks at the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a transparent investigation into the events and also urged restraint."

 This is false. 

   Ban's statement was at 9:37 am; the Security Council meeting didn't start until 10 am, and didn't end until 10:45 am. (At that time, Inner City Press asked Ban's Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman for more detail; he replied that since Ban had issued a statement, he had nothing to add -- all too common at the UN, as pointed out and opposed by the Free UN Coalition for Access.)

  Reuters was not present at the UN Security Council stakeout before, during or after the meeting on Gambia (Tweeted photo here), and apparently not in the UN building either. The crediting on the above quoted story is"Reporting by David Lewis and Diadie Ba in Dakar, Lesley Wroughton in Washington, Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by David Lewis and Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Giles Elgood."

  Six journalists listed; one outright falsehood. What does Reuters do in these cases? We've asked management including Stephen J. Adler before, amid censorship, withno real answer. #ReutersFail.

  Since then, African Union commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has expressed "preoccupation" and rurged deepening "democracy and the respect for human rights."

  By the time of Ban's 9:37 am December 31 statement, later misrepresented by Reuters, the US had already issueda statement: “The United States is aware of reports of a coup attempt on December 30 in The Gambia. We strongly condemn any attempt to seize power through extra-constitutional means. We regret the loss of life and call on all parties to refrain from further violence.”

    Thirteen hours later when Ban Ki-moon issued his statement, he went a bit further and cited calm and called for an investigation, apparently by Jammeh's government itself:

“The Secretary-General is following closely developments in The Gambia. He reiterates the United Nations principled condemnation of all attempts to seize power through unconstitutional means. Referring to reports that indicate that the situation in Banjul is calm, he calls for all parties to exercise restraint and to refrain from further violence. 

“Noting the seriousness of any attempt to overthrow governments by force, the Secretary-General encourages the establishment of a transparent investigation into the events of 30 December, in compliance with due process and respect for the rule of law. In that regard, he urges the Government of The Gambia, and its security and defense forces to act in full respect for human rights. The United Nations will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

  When the UN Security Council meeting on the topic began at 10:10 am on December 31, there were tumbleweeds at the stakeout in front. Some may denounce The Gambia, but at the UN or at least in its press corp, there is not apparently much interest.

  When the meeting ended, in less than 45 minutes, Inner City Press asked Feltman about it. He said since the SG had issued a statement, he had nothing to add. In 2015, theFree UN Coalition for Access will be pressing for all UN Under Secretaries General to answer questions. 

  Finally, the Security Council's president for December, from Chad, came and summarized the meeting, saying that UN official Chambas, previously the head of UNAMID in Darfur, will file a report. There have been problems with UNAMID's reporting. 

 (Again in terms of micro-news, Inner City Press is exclusively told by sources that Chambas will go to Gambia on Friday, January 2. Since the UNSC President was asked on camera when Chambas would go and only said "soon," call it a coup scooplet.)

  Inner City Press asked the outgoing Security Council president about the December 30 closed door meeting about Sudan throwing out two UN officials, Yvonne Helle and Ali Al-Za'tari. He said he couldn't speak, nothing had been agreed to. Which is why the UN Secretariat should have spoken and taken questions, as FUNCA requestedand will continue to request in 2015. Watch this site.