Sierra Leone: Newspaper banned from covering parliamentary sessions
On 27 July 2004, Justice Edmond Cowan, speaker of the Sierra Leonean Parliament, banned the privately-owned "Standard Times" newspaper from covering parliamentary sessions for one month. The speaker's action came after the publication in early July of an article in the newspaper, under the caption, "MP Thrown Out of Parliament", which the legislative body considered disparaging.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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ALERT - SIERRA LEONE
29 July 2004
Newspaper banned from covering parliamentary sessions for one month,
journalist detained for one hour
SOURCE: Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Accra
(MFWA/IFEX) - On 27 July 2004, Justice Edmond Cowan, speaker of the Sierra
Leonean Parliament, banned the privately-owned "Standard Times" newspaper
from covering parliamentary sessions for one month.
The speaker's action came after the publication in early July of an article
in the newspaper, under the caption, "MP Thrown Out of Parliament", which
the legislative body considered disparaging.
According to MFWA sources in Sierra Leone, before the imposition of the ban,
editor Mike Beecher and reporter Abdul Kuyateh, the author of the story,
were summoned by the Parliament's plenary to clarify the information.
Kuyateh confessed to the speaker that he was not present at the
parliamentary session in which the event described in the article allegedly
occurred. He, however, refused to disclose his source when Cowan asked him
to do so.
Cowan then ordered the Parliament's sergeant-at-arms to detain Kuyateh for
one hour and instructed the newspaper to retract the story, giving it front
page coverage, and issue an apology.
Cowan also ordered Beecher to write a personal apology to the member of
parliament concerned. Failing to do so will be considered tantamount to
contempt of Parliament, which is punishable by law.
For further information, contact Jeannette Quarcoopome, Media Foundation for
West Africa, P.O. Box LG 730, Legon, Ghana, tel.: +233 21 24 24 70, fax:
+231 21 22 10 84, e-mail: [email protected], Internet:
http://www.mfwaonline.org
The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of MFWA.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit MFWA.
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