(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 22 June 2005 letter to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, CPJ expressed deep concern that imprisoned journalist Paul Kamara has been denied due process of law. Administrative obstacles have prevented his appeal from being heard, according to his lawyer, and Kamara has now served more than eight months of a two-year prison […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 22 June 2005 letter to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, CPJ expressed deep concern that imprisoned journalist Paul Kamara has been denied due process of law. Administrative obstacles have prevented his appeal from being heard, according to his lawyer, and Kamara has now served more than eight months of a two-year prison sentence. His family and friends say he was transferred to solitary confinement four months ago.
Kamara, editor and publisher of the independent daily “For Di People”, was charged with two counts of seditious libel under the 1965 Public Order Act for articles that criticised President Kabbah. He was convicted and sentenced in October 2004 to two prison terms of two years each, to be served concurrently. Kamara was taken into custody and transferred to the Pademba Road Prison in Freetown, where he remains today.
The charges dated from October 2003, and stemmed from articles in “For Di People” alleging that President Kabbah was a “convict” and constitutionally unfit to hold office. The articles focused on a 1967 Commission of Inquiry report that allegedly implicated Kabbah in embezzlement of public funds.
Kamara’s lawyer, Joseph Cole, told CPJ that he filed documents with the Appeals Court on 22 October 2004, seeking to have the conviction overturned, but he has heard nothing in response from the court. No date has been set for a hearing.
On 15 March, Cole sought bail for his client while the appeal was pending. A court rejected the application because it was signed by Kamara’s wife even though she has power of attorney. Cole said he has faced numerous difficulties in getting the requisite government official to witness Kamara’s signature on the application.
Attorney General Frederick Carew told CPJ that he did not know why the court has not responded to the appeal submitted by Kamara’s lawyer. Nor could the attorney general provide any information about Kamara’s assignment to solitary confinement. The journalist has told visitors he was forcibly removed to an isolated prison block on 22 February. His family and colleagues fear for his safety there.
