Liberia: Respect Press Freedom

24 July 2023
The New Dawn (Monrovia)

-EU and US warn Liberian stakeholders

Barely two weeks following the closure of Spoon Network, members of the international community in Liberia have urged stakeholders here to respect the exercise of press freedom.

In a joint statement issue by the European Union and its Member States represented in Liberia (Germany, Ireland, France, and Sweden) and the Embassy of the United States of America, the partners noted that they welcome the positive trajectory of increased press freedom over the past five years, as demonstrated by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index.

But called on all citizens and stakeholders to respect the exercise of press freedom.

"At the same time, we call on all citizens and stakeholders to respect the exercise of press freedom and to exert proportionality in, and refraining from, measures that could indirectly prevent media stakeholders from carrying out their work," partners said in their joint statement.

"We trust that Liberia will carry out the electoral process without any incidents against media stakeholders, thereby reaffirming and strengthening its reputation as the oldest liberal democracy and free society in Africa. All citizens and stakeholders do have a responsibility in this regard," they added.

It could be recalled that the Spoon Network was recently closed on the orders of the Liberia Civil Law Court. The Network owns a television and couple of radio stations and was shut down on July 14, 2023.

The Court orders were predicated on a defamation lawsuit filed by the former acting Director General of the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Service (LISGIS), Mr. Wilmot Smith, against Spoon Network and its former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Stanton Witherspoon.

On June 20, 22, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) accused and forwarded to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for prosecution several local vendors and senior officials of the Liberian government including Mr. Smith for alleged acts of corruption. In November 2022, President Weah dismissed Mr. Smith for administrative reason.

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