Sierra Leone: Journalists' group challenges libel laws used to silence critics

Journalists in Sierra Leone are challenging laws that criminalize free speech and authorize prison terms of up to seven years for those who criticize the government. The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) filed the lawsuit with the country's Supreme Court last week, seeking to overturn Sierra Leone's criminal libel and false news laws. The laws allow prison sentences for expression that "excite(s) disaffection" against the government or "injure(s) the reputation" of the government or individual officials.