Monrovia, Liberia – The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has issued a strong condemnation against what it describes as a “coordinated legal campaign” targeting journalists in Rivercess County, branding recent arrests and judicial actions as a “blatant abuse of judicial authority.”
The PUL’s concerns center on the arrest and detention of two local journalists ~ Eric Opa Doue and Methuselah Gaye ~ who were taken into custody on Wednesday, August 13, under separate but related charges stemming from their reporting on alleged judicial misconduct.
The journalists were first arrested on the orders of Associate Magistrate Debah Zuku Debah of the Yarpah Town Magisterial Court, charged with “Criminal Contempt of Court” after allegedly publishing “false, misleading, and unfounded information” on social media. The report in question linked the Yarpah Town Court to bribery in the controversial release of a police officer arrested for drug possession.
A second arrest warrant followed from Associate Magistrate Dixon Yeahgar of the Cestos City Magisterial Court, this time for “Criminal Coercion”, filed at the request of police officer Ojuku Weeks, who is acting as a private prosecutor. Weeks was named in the original report as the officer released under suspicious circumstances, though the journalists later retracted the identification, clarifying the suspect was Morris Doe.
PUL President Julius Kanubah decried the arrests as “a strategically orchestrated attack on the press by a network of judicial and state actors in Rivercess County.”
Kanubah further criticized the judicial actions as a reversal of Liberia’s press freedom gains under the Kamara Abdullah Kamara Act of Press Freedom, which decriminalized speech-related offenses. He pointed to Liberia’s commitment to the Declaration of Table Mountain, which calls for the abolition of criminal defamation laws across Africa.
“This is an abuse of judicial power and a dangerous retreat from Liberia’s obligations to protect press freedom,” said Kanubah.
In addition to the charges, the PUL highlighted the imposition of an excessive bail of 60,000 Liberian Dollars (approximately USD 300) on each journalist ~ an amount deemed punitive in a region grappling with widespread poverty. While Methuselah Gaye was temporarily released after spending a night in jail and posting bail without legal counsel, Eric Opa Doue remained behind bars until his release on Saturday, August 16, after spending a night at the Cestos Central Prison.
The PUL also raised concerns about the refusal of Public Defender Abraham Nyounway to provide legal assistance or sign for the journalists ~ calling it an alarming development that effectively leaves rural journalists vulnerable to state and judicial abuse.
The Union is now calling for all charges against the two journalists to be dropped and is urging public officials and citizens with media-related grievances to pursue remedies through appropriate legal and regulatory channels, rather than “weaponizing the courts to punish journalists and suppress journalism.”
“Judicial actors must uphold due process, safeguard freedom of expression, and respect the press as an essential pillar of Liberia’s democracy,” the PUL concluded.
