Liberian law enforcement officers arrest, beat journalist Kesselee Sumo
Abuja, March 29, 2024—Liberian authorities should investigate the law enforcement officers who tear-gassed and beat to unconsciousness journalist Kesselee Sumo, and drop all legal proceedings against the talk show host, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Two officers with the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) and a magistrate’s court sheriff assaulted and arrested Sumo,…
Liberian journalist Winston Blyden attacked by politician’s bodyguards
On June 6, 2023, Hanson Kaizolu, a member of Liberia’s opposition Unity Party, ordered two of his bodyguards to “flog” and “beat up” Winston Blyden, a producer and director with the privately owned broadcaster Bana FM, after he covered daily legislative proceedings at the Capitol building in Monrovia, according to a statement by the local…
Police threaten to shoot 2 journalists covering Liberia elections
Abuja, July 11, 2022 – Liberian authorities should investigate and hold to account the two police officers responsible for threatening journalists Emmanuel Kollie and Amos P. Korzawu and assaulting Kollie, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On the evening of June 29, two police officers in Foya district, in northern Lofa county, threatened to…
Liberian journalists harassed, arrested by security forces
Since February 13, 2020, Liberian security forces have harassed, assaulted, or detained at least four journalists during the course of their work, according to the journalists, who spoke with CPJ, and a petition from the Press Union of Liberia, an independent media workers’ advocacy group.
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 press boycotts Sirleaf over aide’s comments
Most governments, even repressive ones, at least give lip service to supporting freedom of the press–especially on World Press Freedom Day, May 3. But in Liberia this month, Othello Daniel Warrick, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s chief security aide, shocked local journalists by threatening them and calling them “terrorists” at a public event to mark the…
Bob Stan, Liberia press pioneer, captivates at 80
Veteran journalist Stanton B. Peabody, a pioneer of press freedom in Liberia, turned 80 last month. Peabody, known to family and friends as “Bob Stan,” is a captivating figure full of wisdom and humor. We talked recently about his journalism career, one that has tracked the blossoming of the press in Liberia.