(IPI/IFEX) – IPI is deeply concerned about the fate of five journalists who were sentenced to death in Sierra Leone on 24 August 1998, on charges of treason in connection with a May 1997 coup d’état. **Updates IFEX alerts of 14 and 1 April 1998** According to IPI, 16 Sierra Leone citizens, including five journalists, […]
(IPI/IFEX) – IPI is deeply concerned about the fate of five journalists who
were sentenced to death in Sierra Leone on 24 August 1998, on charges of
treason in connection with a May 1997 coup d’état.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 14 and 1 April 1998**
According to IPI, 16 Sierra Leone citizens, including five journalists, were
found guilty of treason for collaborating with the ousted Armed Forces
Ruling Council (AFRC) junta. Justice Edmond Cowan passed the sentences after
a trial lasting about four months. IPI understands that the law under which
they were tried provides for execution by firing squad, that they can appeal
against their sentences within 21 days, and that President H.E. Ahmed Tejan
Kabbah has the power to commute the sentences.
The convicted journalists were Hilton Fyle, a former BBC Radio Africa
Service presenter, Gipu Felix George, a former director-general of the
Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, radio journalists Dennis Smith and
Olivia Mensah, and newspaper editor Ibrahim Ben Kargbo. Others condemned
included businessmen and government bureaucrats.
In the absence of sufficient transparency surrounding the convictions, IPI
fears that the five journalists face imminent execution on charges that have
not been substantiated in an open and fair legal process and that their
conviction may have been connected to their activities as journalists.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to President H.E. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah:
convicted for exercising their profession as journalists, to ensure that
they are immediately released
Appeals To
H.E. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah
President
Freetown
Sierra Leonethe Sierra Leone diplomatic representative in your country
(in Belgium)
Peter Kiyembeh
Ambassador
Brussels, Belgium
Fax: + 32 27 71 82 30(in Canada/United States)
High Commission for the Republic of Sierra Leone
1701-19th Street North West
Washington, D.C.
20009, U.S.A.
Fax: +1 202 483 1793
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
