Liberia’s FrontPageAfrica summoned to defend bribery report or face contempt of court
Abuja, June 12, 2023—Liberian authorities should ensure that journalists are able to cover court cases without fear that they will be forced to expose their sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. In a summons dated May 31, which CPJ reviewed, Judge Blamo Dixon of Criminal Court C in the Liberian capital Monrovia ordered…
Liberian police assault editor Christopher Walker at soccer tournament
On January 23, 2020, officers of the Liberia National Police assaulted Christopher Walker, the sports editor of the privately owned daily newspaper FrontPage Africa, during the semi-final of a national soccer tournament at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sport Stadium in Monrovia, the capital, according to Walker, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, local news…
Q&A: Rodney Sieh on how Liberia’s press is faring under Weah presidency
Rodney Sieh, editor-in-chief and publisher of Liberian investigative outlet FrontPageAfrica, knows first-hand the harassment and risks critical journalists in his country face. In 2013, CPJ documented how he was sentenced to prison over unpaid fines in a criminal defamation case.
Liberia should reform libel laws in wake of $1.8 million civil lawsuit against Front Page Africa
New York, April 11, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over a US$1.8 million civil defamation lawsuit against Front Page Africa, a privately owned Liberian newspaper that has long been the subject of complaints and harassment for its critical reporting on successive governments.
Amid Ebola outbreak, West African governments try to isolate media
On the first Saturday of November 2014, when media owner and broadcaster David Tam Baryoh switched on the mic for his weekly “Monologue” show on independent Citizen FM in Freetown, Sierra Leone, he had no idea that criticizing the government’s handling of Ebola would mean 11 days in jail.
In attempts to contain Ebola, Liberia censors its press
With the Ebola epidemic predicted to get worse, the Liberian government has taken action to silence news outlets critical of its handling of the health crisis which, according to Liberia’s Information Ministry, has claimed more than 1,000 lives in the country since March. Publishers have been harassed and forced to cease printing, and journalists were…
Liberian police beat journalist covering ebola protest
Liberian police on August 11, 2014, assaulted Henry Karmo, a journalist with the independent FrontPageAfrica newspaper, while he was photographing protesters in the capital, Monrovia, demonstrating against the imposition of a 90-day state of emergency by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, according to news reports. The directive was aimed at controlling the spread of the deadly…
Liberian publisher Sieh freed, news outlet reopened
A court in the capital Monrovia on November 18, 2013, officially ordered the release from prison of FrontPageAfrica publisher Rodney Sieh and the reopening of the offices of the private daily newspaper, according to news reports. The newspaper will resume its daily publication on November 25, 2013, Sieh told CPJ.
CPJ welcomes release of Liberian journalist Rodney Sieh
New York, October 8, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Monday’s decision by Liberia’s Ministry of Justice to grant Rodney Sieh–the publisher of FrontPageAfrica who has been jailed since August for not paying libel damages–“compassionate release” for 30 days. The conditions behind Sieh’s release were not clear, but the journalist’s health had deteriorated in prison.…