(MFWA/IFEX) – On 15 April 2005, a Sierra Leone High Court presided by a Commonwealth judge, Justice Akiiki Kiiza, ruled against an application for bail filed by Paul Kamara, the jailed editor of “For di People” newspaper. According to MFWA sources, the refusal for bail was made on the grounds that the supporting affidavit accompanying […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 15 April 2005, a Sierra Leone High Court presided by a Commonwealth judge, Justice Akiiki Kiiza, ruled against an application for bail filed by Paul Kamara, the jailed editor of “For di People” newspaper.
According to MFWA sources, the refusal for bail was made on the grounds that the supporting affidavit accompanying the application was not signed by the applicant himself, but by his wife.
“This application failed because of lack of sufficient reasons why the bail should be granted,” Judge Kiiza submitted.
Kamara was sentenced to a total of four years in prison in October 2004 for “seditioulsy” libeling President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.
Kamara’s lawyer, J.O.D. Cole, has expressed his intention to appeal against the ruling as he believes that all the conditions for filing the application were duly met.
The MFWA reiterates its call on the Sierra Leone authorities to repeal the draconian law of sedition and other laws that criminalise speech. The organisation maintains that these laws ultimately suffocate free expression and are inconsistent with the era of democracy prevailing in the sub-region.
