(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA-MFWA alert: On 27 May 2003, three armed men wearing uniforms of the Presidential elite guard, the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), attacked Stanley McGill, a journalist working with the independent newspaper “The News”. McGill had just returned from work at about 10:45 p.m. (local time) when his assailants, who […]
(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA-MFWA alert:
On 27 May 2003, three armed men wearing uniforms of the Presidential elite guard, the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), attacked Stanley McGill, a journalist working with the independent newspaper “The News”.
McGill had just returned from work at about 10:45 p.m. (local time) when his assailants, who had apparently been trailing him, accosted him at gunpoint, robbed him of his personal effects, and left with a “promise” to “get back.”
This was the second attack on McGill by men wearing state security uniforms. In April 2002, armed men suspected of belonging to the ATU assaulted the journalist and made away with his transistor radio and cellular phone.
MFWA is concerned about the blatant abuse of the freedom of expression rights of Liberians and, in particular, the persistent threats and attacks on journalists and the private media in the country.
On 14 December 2002, five ATU men attacked journalist Throble Suah of “The Inquirer” newspaper and tortured him until he lost consciousness. His tormentors accused him of publishing stories that sought to embarrass the government. Suah is still hospitalised in Accra, Ghana, and is undergoing physiotherapy for sensory and motor dysfunctions.
In April 2003, the government imposed a ban on public preaching. A statement signed by Charles Mataley, director of public affairs at the Ministry of Justice, claimed that the measure was “for the sake of public safety.” Six FM radio stations were also recently shut down because, according to Director of National Communication Emmanuel Todo, their “motives and scope of operations were not clear to the government.”
