(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) alert: The Civil Law Court in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, has issued a summons to the management and staff of four newspapers, the “National Chronicle”, the “Monrovia Guardian”, “The Forum” and “The Heritage”. The editors and staff of the four newspapers […]
(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) alert:
The Civil Law Court in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, has issued a summons to the management and staff of four newspapers, the “National Chronicle”, the “Monrovia Guardian”, “The Forum” and “The Heritage”. The editors and staff of the four newspapers are expected to appear before Judge Winston O. Henries on 4 April 2004.
The court issued the summons after Labour Minister Lavella Supuwood filed a suit against the journalists, claiming “damages from wrongs for defamation of character and injury to reputation”. According to MFWA-Liberia sources, Supuwood filed the suit on 25 March.
The minister’s action comes in the wake of a series of articles by the newspapers reporting stories of heinous crimes committed against Liberians during the country’s bloody 14-year civil war. The newspapers listed the names of individuals who allegedly committed the crimes.Supuwood is among those whose names have repeatedly been cited in the articles. The minister now represents the largest rebel group, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), in the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) headed by Charles Gyude Bryant.
