Washington, DC — After being held in detention for five days by state security officers, the chairman of The NEWS newspaper, Wilson Tarpeh, was released over the weekend. The offices of the paper, however, remain closed.
Mr. Wilson Tarpeh was picked up last Tuesday by plain-clothes security officers and taken to the Liberia Police headquarters before being moved to the National Security Agency offices for interrogation. As Tarpeh was being taken away, the offices of The NEWS and Guardian Newspapers were being closed down by officials of the Finance Ministry on grounds that they had failed to pay tax arrears.
Government officials have said the two newspapers will remain closed pending the full settlement of their tax affairs.
Editor Philip Wesseh of The Inquirer, an independent daily newspaper in Liberia, this morning told allAfrica.com Mr. Tarpeh had been released, confirming that "the government did not and has not given any official reason for picking up and holding Mr. Tarpeh."
Wesseh explained that while Mr. Tarpeh was held at the Liberian Police headquarters, police director Paul Mulbah told journalists that Tarpeh had been "invited" to help with an investigation on state matters.
Tarpeh has declined to comment and has made no statement since his release, according to Wesseh.
The Inquirer's editor said the use of tax arrears as justification for the closure of The NEWS and Guardian Newspapers is another means to intimidate the media, pointing out that "the economy is bad so everyone is owing tax".
Other press and media sources in Monrovia, who prefer to remain anonymous, see the arrest of Mr. Tarpeh and closure of The NEWS as a result of a recent story the paper published, quoting the United Nations panel's recent report on Liberian Government officials avoiding sanctions barring them from travelling abroad.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The story carried details, accompanied by photographs, of several Liberian officials who have traveled out of the country without regard to the UN's travel restrictions.
A vendor who sells The NEWS on the streets of Monrovia told allAfrica.com that officials had taken exception to that publication which was based on the UN Panel report.
He said that after that particular edition of the paper appeared on the news stands, the acting editor of The NEWS, Jerome Dalieh, was summoned to the National Security Agency offices by NSA director, Mr. Freedie Taylor who warned Dalieh against embarrassing the government.
The Press Union of Liberia has expressed concern about the closure of the two papers and the holding of Mr. Tarpeh by security officers.
A statement said that while it would not support any attempt to avoid paying tax, enforcement or revenue collection must be channeled through the tax court.
This is the second time this year that The NEWS has been closed. In February, the paper was shut on the grounds of non-payment of taxes while four of its editorial staff were detained for over a month on charges of espionage, after a story challenged government spending on the repair of helicopters and on non-essential items.
