29 August 2000
JOURNALISTS FREED FROM ESPIONAGE CHARGES
On 25 August, Liberian authorities released four journalists for Britain's Channel Four who had been detained for a week on espionage charges, report the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). On 18 August, Sorious Samura of Sierra Leone, Gugulakhe Radebe of South Africa, and David Barrie and Timothy John Lambon of the United Kingdom were arrested and indicted on espionage charges under claims that they intended to produce a documentary that was "damaging and injurious" to the country. For three weeks, the journalists had been filming and conducting interviews for a TV documentary. According to CPJ, the crew had requested an interview with President Charles Taylor, "who is widely suspected of supplying rebel forces in neighboring Sierra Leone with weapons and logistical support in exchange for diamonds." The President stated in an interview that the four were released after they had "apologized" to the nation, reports MISA.
The case was met with public outcry by IFEX members and others in the African and international human rights and free expression communities. African leaders from Mali, Nigeria and South Africa also took a stand on the blatant press freedom violation that this case represents. "In a continent where politicians have historically been slow to condemn press-freedom violations within their own borders, let alone outside," this protest was particularly striking, says CPJ. Other international figures or bodies that spoke out include the Reverend Jesse Jackson; the U.S. special presidential envoy to Africa; the U.S. State Department; former U.S. president Jimmy Carter; and the British government. Press freedom groups welcomed the release of this television crew, noting however that they retain great concern for the state of press freedom in Liberia. The West African Journalists Association (WAJA) highlights a number of other intimidation and harassment tactics used against journalists in the country, such as the closure of media groups and journalists forced into exile.
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