(MFWA/IFEX) – Paul Kamara, the jailed editor of the independent newspaper “For Di People”, has appealed the two-year prison sentence imposed on him by the High Court. In a 12-point statement filed with the Appeal Court in the capital, Freetown, on 22 October 2004, Kamara stated that the “judgement is against the weight of evidence” […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – Paul Kamara, the jailed editor of the independent newspaper “For Di People”, has appealed the two-year prison sentence imposed on him by the High Court.
In a 12-point statement filed with the Appeal Court in the capital, Freetown, on 22 October 2004, Kamara stated that the “judgement is against the weight of evidence” brought against him, and that the trial was handled by a judge sitting alone instead of a jury.
Kamara also complained that throughout the trial, the judge exhibited bias through his utterances in open court. He urged the Appeal Court to set aside Justice Bankole Rashid’s 5 October ruling, which places him behind bars for two years.
Meanwhile, in observance of African Human Rights Day, human rights organisations in Sierra Leone have appealed to President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah’s government to expunge from the statute books all laws that impede free expression and criminalise speech.
The rights groups also appealed to President Kabbah to pardon Kamara in a show of support for free expression in the country.
