Abuja — Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio should not sign the country's counterterrorism bill into law and must ensure any new legislation will not be used to target the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday.

"President Julius Maada Bio should not assent to Sierra Leone's terror bill without ensuring that sections hostile to press freedom are amended," said Angela Quintal, CPJ's Africa regional director, from New York. "Sierra Leone's lawmakers and executive should safeguard the rights to press freedom and free expression as part of their work to protect their country against the threat of terrorism."

Sierra Leone's parliament passed the proposed Counterterrorism Act, 2024, on March 11, and the measure is expected to be signed into law by President Bio, according to information on the parliament's Facebook page and the deputy speaker of parliament, Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app on March 28.

The bill, which CPJ reviewed, includes sections that put journalists at risk of prosecution for their work. Notably, Sections 17(f) and 32(f) both criminalize sharing information that the sender "knows" to be false or for which the sender "has reasonable grounds to suspect to be false." The sections are punishable by life in prison and 15 years in prison, respectively. Moreover, Section 4 of the bill would allow authorities unfettered powers to "request and obtain information, where it considers it necessary, from any person or authority."

Similarly, a Sierra Leone Association of Journalists analysis of the bill found "its broad language and harsh penalties pose a significant threat to press freedom and civic expression in Sierra Leone." Local media have also raised concerns.

Reached by phone, presidential spokesperson Yusuf Keketoma Sandi dismissed CPJ's concerns about the bill as "unjustifiable."