(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 20 September 2001 letter to Liberian President Charles G. Taylor, CPJ protested the unlawful detention of T-max Jlateh, a journalist with the private radio station DC 101.1. Jlateh was arrested on 17 September for airing listener comments that celebrated the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States. On the morning […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 20 September 2001 letter to Liberian President Charles G. Taylor, CPJ protested the unlawful detention of T-max Jlateh, a journalist with the private radio station DC 101.1. Jlateh was arrested on 17 September for airing listener comments that celebrated the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States.
On the morning of 17 September, police raided the studios of the Monrovia-based DC 101.1, one of Liberia’s last surviving independent broadcasters. Jlateh was arrested midway through “DC Talk,” a popular call-in program that he hosts. The officers evacuated the staff and effectively closed down the station before taking Jlateh back to police headquarters. They presented no warrant for their actions.
DC 101.1 was allowed to reopen after a few hours on the same day. Police continued to detain Jlateh throughout the night, and did not release him until about 2:00 p.m. (local time) on 18 September, according to CPJ’s sources in Monrovia.
The pretext for Jlateh’s arrest was that several callers had spoken harshly about the United States. Some of them apparently rejoiced at the 11 September terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. CPJ sources say that although many other callers expressed sympathy for the victims of the attacks, others claimed that the United States was the chief sponsor of terrorism in the world and that it deserved the attacks for imposing sanctions on Liberia earlier this year.
The raid followed a government threat to arrest and prosecute anyone found buying or selling photographs of Osama Bin Laden, the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks on the U.S.
President Taylor figures prominently on CPJ’s annual list of the Ten Worst Enemies of the Press. His inclusion in this year’s list was based on Liberia’s systematic repression of critical journalists and independent news outlets.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– deploring the arrest and harassment of journalists who were merely doing their jobs by facilitating discussion on matters of legitimate public concern
– calling on him to ensure that all Liberian journalists may exercise their constitutional right to report the news without fear of government reprisal
Appeals To
His Excellency Charles G. Taylor
President of the Republic of Liberia
Monrovia, Liberia
Fax: +231 225 217Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
