Sierra Leone: Concern over confiscation of newspaper's equipment

To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: World Association of Newspapers (WAN), [email protected]

His Excellency President Ahmed Tejjan Kabbah
Sierra Leone
C/o Permanent Representative to UN
Email: [email protected]

27 November 2003

Your Excellency,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the
World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries,
to express our serious concern at the confiscation of all equipment
belonging to the independent For Di People newspaper.

According to reports, on the morning of 24 November heavily armed police
confiscated equipment belonging to For Di People, in connection with a
damages award in a civil libel case. Editor Paul Kamara, who is also facing
seditious libel charges in another case, was appearing in court at the time
of the raid. Police reportedly took computers, printers, desks, telephones
and even Mr Kamara's car.

Mr Kamara served a six-month prison sentence after being convicted of
criminal libel in November 2002 for defaming a judge. Last month, the High
Court ordered him to pay almost US$25,000 in damages and costs following a
civil suit in the same case. Mr Kamara was unable to pay within 24 hours as
ordered by the court and claimed that there were serious procedural
irregularities, including the fact that he had not been represented in
court. He also said that he had not received any notice relating to payment
of the damages.

Mr Kamara was also detained several times following a 3 October 2003
article, which alleged that you were unfit to hold office. On 10 October, he
and three employees at the John Love Printing Press, which prints For Di
People, were imprisoned and charged with seditious libel in connection with
that article. They were released on bail of $20,000 on 11 November. The case
has been adjourned to 1 December.

We are seriously concerned that the seizure of For Di People's equipment is
the latest step in a campaign to intimidate Mr Kamara and to permanently
close the newspaper for criticising you and your government.

We respectfully remind you that the imposition of disproportionately large
fines so as to force the closure of For Di People constitutes a clear breach
of the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous
international agreements, including the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Article 19 of the Declaration states: 'Everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information
and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers.'

We respectfully call on you to take all necessary steps to ensure that all
equipment is returned to For Di People and that it is permitted to publish
without state interference. We urge you to do everything possible to ensure
that all intimidation of Mr Kamara stops and that in future your government
fully respects international standards of press freedom.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Seok Hyun Hong
President
World Association of Newspapers

Gloria Brown Anderson
President
World Editors Forum