(MFWA/IFEX) – Officers of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in the capital, Monrovia, are demanding 500 Liberian dollars (approx. US$10) from “Forum” newspaper’s management as a pre-condition for reopening its office. According to an MFWA-Monrovia source, the officers were to reopen the newspaper’s office on 11 March 2005, after the management handed over US$200 to […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – Officers of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in the capital, Monrovia, are demanding 500 Liberian dollars (approx. US$10) from “Forum” newspaper’s management as a pre-condition for reopening its office.
According to an MFWA-Monrovia source, the officers were to reopen the newspaper’s office on 11 March 2005, after the management handed over US$200 to the state in payment of a fine for “disregarding a court order.” The officers, however, said that they would not reopen the office unless the newspaper’s management “gave” them 500 Liberian dollars. The paper’s managing editor, Augustine Fallah, told MFWA that the demand constituted a “bribe” and was part of a deliberate attempt to silence the newspaper.
On 24 February, the court, presided by Judge Yussif D. Kaba, held “Forum” management in contempt of court for “failure to respect a restraining order” and for “failure to appear in court” in a libel suit against the paper. On 4 March, the court issued an arrest warrant and asked the Liberia National Police director to “assist the court sheriff [by providing] police officers to arrest the managing editor and his staff.” The court also ordered the closure of the newspaper’s office.
The lawsuit against “Forum” was filed in early February by senatorial candidate Melee Kermue, based on “damages for injury to reputation.” Kermue launched the lawsuit over an article in the paper that reported that he had fled prosecution in the United States, where he was allegedly involved in drug trafficking (see IFEX alert of 7 January 2005).
A hearing in the case was scheduled for the March session of the court, but the judge later changed the date to 24 February. In his ruling, Kaba alleged that the summons for the 24 February hearing was served and that the return was duly signed by the respondent. Fallah, however, maintained that at no time was the paper’s management served with a summons to appear in court. He said the newspaper’s lawyer, James Verdier, who is currently out of the country, notified the court of his travel plans and that the judge’s decision to schedule a hearing in the lawyer’s absence was a “manipulation,” designed to deny the paper legal representation and thereby silence it.
