| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
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ALERT - SIERRA LEONE
19 August 1997
Two journalists detained and assaulted
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
(CPJ/IFEX)- On 18 August 1997, Kelvin Lewis, Freetown-based stringer for the Voice Of America (VOA), Ojukutu Macaulay, editor of "The Quill" newspaper, and an unidentified driver were arrested and transported to Cockrill Military Headquarters where they were detained. The journalists, who were on their way to cover a student demonstration routed from Up-Gun-Turn-Table to the Law Court Building on Siaka Stevens Street in downtown Freetown, were arrested by a group of Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) soldiers who confiscated Lewis's car and damaged his broadcast equipment.
According to CPJ sources, Lewis's car was reportedly seen in Freetown, on 19 August, being used by soldiers who had removed the vehicle's licence plates.
The two journalists and the unidentified driver were released from detention on 19 August. They had reportedly been held in an airtight shipping container at Cockrill Military Headquarters. The journalists were severely beaten with the blunt ends of machetes by Major Johnny Paul Koroma's Chief of Security, "Sergeant Rambo". Macaulay sustained injuries to his head that required stitches. During the course of their detention, Lewis and Macaulay were not interrogated but rather were intermittently assaulted and pistol-whipped by numerous soldiers who also threatened to kill them.
No official statement has been made by the AFRC regarding the arrest, which follows a 14 August broadcast on the national radio station SLBS (FM 99.9), in which the AFRC stated they were not seeking journalists for detention or harassment and that all journalists were free to practise their profession. As proof, the AFRC claimed that a letter was issued by AFRC Secretary General Colonel A.K. Sesay to Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) President Frank Kposowa stating that Kposowa could travel freely within the country for professional reasons.
For further information, contact Kakuna Kerina (x 103) or Selam Demeke (x 118) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: kkerina@cpj.org, sdemeke@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/.
The information contained in this alert and update is the sole responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit CPJ.
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[Via the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa (IRIN-WA) Reports mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the UN or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts from this report should be attributed to the original sources where appropriate. For further information: e-mail irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci, Tel: +225 217367 Fax: +225 216335.]
Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19970820084425.006c9564@pop.africaonline.co.ci> Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 08:44:25 +0100 From: UN DHA IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci> Subject: Sierra Leone: IFEX Alert journalist detained, assaulted 97.8.20
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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