18 June 2008

Two journalists detained briefly for taking photographs


(CEMESP/IFEX) - Two Liberian journalists working for the "New Democrat"
newspaper were arrested and detained for several hours on 16 June 2008 by
officers of the Liberia National Police in Monrovia.

According to the police, news editor Othello Garblah and staff writer
Festus Porque were arrested at the request of the Monrovia Transit
Authority for "unprofessional photography."

The two journalists had gone to the premises of the Monrovia Transit
Authority, a public transport company, following a tip-off that some of the
buses being managed by the entity were down due to gross mismanagement.

Upon arrival, the journalists identified themselves to the security guards
assigned at the compound and were allowed in. They then asked to talk to
the management of the entity but were told that none of the senior managers
was present.

It was after being told that none of the managers was present
that they decided to take photographs of some of the out-of-use buses
parked in the compound. This apparently infuriated the security guards, who
arrested them for allegedly trespassing and called in the national police
from the nearby depot.

Upon arrival at the scene, the police took the two journalists to their
depot and charged them with the crime of "unprofessional photography." (The
journalists were reportedly obliged to destroy their photographs.)

However, the journalists were released the same day after spending several
hours in detention.

CEMESP views the detention of the two journalists while they were trying to
corroborate the allegations of transit mismanagement with photographs as an
attempt to impede their work and deny the public information which they
have a right to know.

CEMESP believes that the security guards' allegations of trespassing are
groundless for two reasons: the facility of the Monrovia Transit Authority,
being a public entity, should be accessible to the public, including
journalists; as well, the guards themselves allowed the journalists in, and
only interfered when they began taking photographs.


_________________________________________________________________
For further information contact CEMESP, Benson & Buchanan Streets, P.O. Box
3480, Monrovia, Liberia, tel: +231 651 4357, e-mail:
centerforpeacebuilding@yahoo.com, Internet: http://www.cemesp-liberia.org/

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of
CEMESP. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit
CEMESP.

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