Written By: Kakuna Kerina, Matthew Leone & David Tam-Baryoh

The following are press freedom violations committed by all parties to the conflict in Sierra Leone since the election of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah in March 1996, as reported to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) by IFEX-member press freedom organizations.

More information on these and other Sierra Leone media cases are available on the IFEX web site, located at http://www.ifex.org

08/04/99 Christo Johnson, Reuters, Imprisoned
08/04/99 Pasco Temple, Star Radio, Imprisoned
08/04/99 Ade Campbell, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS), Imprisoned
08/04/99 Chernor Bangura, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS), Imprisoned
06/10/99 Sorie Sudan Sesay, Independent Observer, Attacked, Imprisoned
06/10/99 Bai Bai Sesay, Independent Observer, Attacked, Imprisoned
06/10/99 Jerry Tryson, Independent Observer, Attacked, Imprisoned
06/10/99 Ibrahim Sorie Sesay, Independent Observer, Attacked, Imprisoned
06/10/99 Gibril Foday Musa, New Tablet, Harassed
05/18/99 Jonathon Leigh, Independent Observer, Imprisoned
05/08/99 All Print Media, Harassed
05/05/99 Ahmed Kanneh, The New Storm, Imprisoned
05/05/99 Thomas Gbow, The New Storm, Imprisoned
05/05/99 Mohammad Massaquoi, The New Storm, Imprisoned
04/30/99 Conrad Roy, Expo Times, Killed
On April 30, Expo Times news editor Conrad Roy, imprisoned at Pademba Road Prison since February 1998, died at the Lakka Tuberculosis Hospital from tuberculosis that he contracted during detention. In February 1998, ECOMOG soldiers had detained Roy upon their entry into Freetown. Roy was not charged until December 11, 1998, when he appeared in the Magistrate's Court to face charges ranging from treason and aiding and abetting the enemy to conspiring to overthrow a legally constituted government. During his detention, Roy was denied the opportunity to appear before the Investigation Committee that decided who should be charged with treason for activities occurring during the joint AFRC/ RUF regime. On January 6, 1999, when RUF rebels invaded Freetown, Roy was released from prison. On January 10, Roy reported to Pademba Road Prison in compliance with a government order for prisoners to return.

04/20/99 Winston Ojukutu-Macauley, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Harassed, Threatened
01/25/99 Javier Espinosa, El Mundo, Imprisoned
01/25/99 Patrick St. Paul, Le Figaro, Harassed
01/11/99 Ian Stewart, Associated Press, Attacked
02/03/99 Abdulai Jumah Jalloh, African Champion, Killed
On February 3, at 3:00 p.m., Abdulai Jumah Jalloh, news editor of the independent newspaper African Champion, was shot and killed by an ECOMOG soldier in central Freetown. Jalloh was with African Champion editor Mohammed D. Koroma, en route to print the newspaper at the John Love Printing Company near the State House when a Sierra Leone Civil Defense Force (CDF) officer named Abass saw Jalloh and stated that he resembled someone who owed him money. Abass then informed a group of ECOMOG soldiers that Jalloh was an RUFrebel who had been responsible for setting houses on fire in Kissy. Jalloh denied the accusation, as did Koroma, who also told the ECOMOG soldiers that Jalloh was actually living with him because Jalloh's house in Kissy had been burned by arson a few weeks earlier by RUF rebels. The ECOMOG soldiers refused to accept Jalloh's and Koroma's statement of defense, stating that the CDF officer had no reason to lie. Koroma was also warned that if he defended Jalloh any longer he would be executed. An unidentified ECOMOG officer then took Jalloh aside and executed him at point-blank range. Jalloh was buried at the Ascencion Town Cemetery on February 4.

01/11/99 Myles Tierney, Associated Press, Killed
On January 11, Associated Press television producer Myles Tierney was killed when the vehicle he was traveling in was sprayed with bullets by an RUF rebel dressed in an ECOMOG uniform. AP West Africa bureau chief Ian Stewart, also in the vehicle, was critically wounded by gunshot to the head. AP photographer David Guttenfelder suffered cuts from broken glass when the vehicle was shot at. Sources report that the journalists had been assured by Minister of Information Julius Spencer that the area of Freetown they were travelling to was safely under government control.

01/09/99 Mabay Kamara, freelancer, Killed
On January 9, Mabay Kamara, a free-lance reporter, was abducted by RUF rebels from his residence on Soldier Street, near the State House in Central Freetown. The rebels then set the house on fire before leaving the area. Kamara has not been seen since. His wife, who witnessed the abduction and was also threatened with death by the rebels, also disappeared.

01/09/99 Paul Mansaray, Standard Times, Killed
On January 9, Paul Mansaray, deputy editor of the Standard Times, his wife, two young children, and an unnamed nephew were all murdered by RUF rebels at his residence on Andrews Street, in Calabar Town, in the east end of Freetown. Neighbors reportedly overheard the rebels shouting at and threatening Mansaray about his journalistic work. They then exited the premises and set the house ablaze, firing their weapons into the house as it burned to the ground with Mansaray and his family trapped inside.

01/09/99 Mohammed Kamara, SKY-FM (106), Killed
On January 9, Mohammed Kamara, a correspondent for the independent radio station SKYY (FM-106), who covered court proceedings, including the previous years' treason trials, was shot dead by RUF rebels on Siaka Stevens Street in central Freetown at approximately the same time that Jenner Cole was murdered.

01/09/99 Jenner "J.C." Cole, SKY-FM (106), Killed
On January 9, RUF rebels abducted Jenner "J.C." Cole, an on-air broadcaster with SKYY (FM-106) who had previously worked with the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS), from his residence in near Sandars Street in central Freetown. Cole was being taken to an RUF base in the east end of Freetown, when an ECOMOG Alpha Jet flew above the area, during which time all the other abductees escaped except Cole. Shortly thereafter, in the street near the Siaka Stevens Street and Cotton Road intersection, Cole was shot in the head and killed by his abductors, in front of his fiance.

01/--/99 James Ogogo, Concord Times, Killed
Between January 6-10, James Ogogo, editorial consultant for the independent newspaper Concord Times, was captured in Freetown by RUF rebels, remains missing and is feared dead. Ogogo, a Nigerian national, was in extreme danger if captured by RUF rebels because of his nationality, and would certainly have been killed because of the ECOMOG role in the war.

01/--/99 Munir Turay, freelancer, Killed
Munir Turay, a freelance reporter who worked for the Punch and the state-owned Daily Mail, and who has worked as a correspondent for the state-owned Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) radio station, was killed between January 9-15 January in Kissy, in the east end of Freetown. Neither his colleagues nor his family know the exact circumstances of his death, but colleagues who attended Turay's funeral on February 9 report that there were bullet holes in Turay's back.

01/--/99 Christopher Coker, Advocate, Imprisoned
01/--/99 Momodu Adams, freelancer, Imprisoned
12/22/98 Kabba Kargbo, freelancer, Harassed
12/11/98 Mildred Hancile, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS), Imprisoned
12/11/98 Conrad Roy, Expo Times, Imprisoned
12/11/98 Mano Mbompa Turay, Eagle, Imprisoned
12/11/98 Amadu Jalloh, Liberty Voice, Imprisoned
12/08/98 Winston Ojukutu Macaulay, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Legal Action
12/08/98 Sylvester Rogers, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Imprisoned, Threatened, Legal Action
12/08/98 Sulaiman Momodu, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Concord Times, Harassed
07/15/98 Umaru David, Champion Newspaper, Legal Action
07/15/98 David Konteh, Champion Newspaper, Legal Action
07/14/98 Foday Fofana, Star, Legal Action
07/14/98 Alusine Fofana, Star, Legal Action
07/02/98 Joseph Mboka, Democrat, Imprisoned
07/02/98 Jonathan Leigh, Independent Observer, Imprisoned
07/02/98 Ahmed Kanneh, Newstorm, Imprisoned
06/03/98 Print media, Harassed
04/30/98 Punch, Harassed
04/13/98 Edward Smith, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Killed
Smith, a Sierra Leonean national and a correspondent with the BBC covering the northeastern Makeni and Kono districts, was killed when an ECOMOG convoy he was traveling with was ambushed by RUF rebels. Smith previously had worked as a reporter for the independent Vision newspaper, and as editor of The Storm newspaper.

03/31/98 Dennis Smith, SLBS, Imprisoned, Legal Action
03/31/98 Gipu Felix George, SLBS, Imprisoned, Legal Action
03/31/98 Olivia Mensah, SLBS, Imprisoned, Legal Action
03/31/98 Maada Maka Swaray, SLBS Imprisoned, Legal Action
03/31/98 William Smith, We Yone, Imprisoned
03/31/98 Hilton Fyle, WBIG-FM103, Imprisoned, Legal Action
03/31/98 Ibrahim B. Kargbo, Citizen, Legal Action
03/26/98 Sorie Fofana, The Vision, Imprisoned
03/25/98 Print media, Censored
03/11/98 President Kabbah Reinstated by ECOMOG intervention
Press Freedom Violations under the AFRC/RUF Military Junta
02/13/98 Teun Voeten, Vrij Nederland, De Morgen, Harassed
01/30/98 Sorie Sudan Sesay, Independent Observer, Harassed, Legal Action
01/16/98 Standard Times, Censored
01/14/98 Desmond Conteh, We Yone, Imprisoned, Harassed
01/14/98 Michael Danielson, Independent Observer, Imprisoned, Harassed
01/14/98 Anthony Swaray, Freelance, Imprisoned
01/10/98 Sylvanus Kanyako, Herald Guardian, Imprisoned
01/10/98 Mohamed Kallon, Herald Guardian, Imprisoned
01/10/98 David Koroma, Herald Guardian, Imprisoned
11/21/97 Ibrahim Karim Sei , Standard Times, Imprisoned
11/21/97 Dorothy Awoonor-Gordon, Concord Times, Imprisoned
11/12/97 Standard Times, Censored
11/01/97 Foday Fofana, Opinion, Threatened
11/01/97 David Tam-Baryoh, Punch, Threatened
11/01/97 Idrissa Conteh, Concord Times, Threatened
11/01/97 John Foray, Democrat, Threatened
11/01/97 Kalilu Fofano, Vision, Threatened
11/01/97 Jonathan Leigh, Indpendent Observer, Threatened
11/01/97 Dorothy Awoonor-Gordon, Concord Times, Threatened
11/01/97 Siaka Massaquoi, Vision, Threatened
11/01/97 Abdul Kpsowa, freelancer, Threatened
11/01/97 Paul Kamara, For di People, Threatened
11/01/97 Pios Forray, Democrat, Threatened
11/05/97 Winston Ojukutu-Macauley, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Harrassed
10/19/97 Francis Akpu, Financial Times, Alpha Jet, Imprisoned
10/17/97 Augustin Garmoh, The Point
10/16/97 Paul Kamara, For di People, Imprisoned
10/13/97 Jonathan Leigh, New Observer, Imprisoned
10/11/97 Umaru Fofana, Vision, BBC, Attacked
10/11/97 John Foray, Democrat, Imprisoned
10/11/97 Abdul Kposwa , freelancer, Imprisoned
10/10/97 Abdul Salam Timbo, freelancer, Imprisoned
10/08/97 David Tambaryoh, Punch, Imprisoned
10/08/97 Donald Davis, Imprisoned, Attacked
10/06/97 Foday Fofana, Concord Times, Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Threatened
10/06/97 Fallah Ensa-Ndemah, Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Threatened
08/25/97 Ibrahim El-Tayyib Bah , The Eastern Front, Attacked
08/18/97 Kelvin Lewis, Voice of America (VOA), Imprisoned, Attacked
08/18/97 Winston Ojukutu-Macaulay, The Quill, Imprisoned, Attacked
07/30/97 Standard Times, Censored
07/30/97 Phillip Neville, Standard Times, Threatened
07/28/97 Suliman Janger, New Tablet, Imprisoned
07/28/97 Gibril Foday Musa, New Tablet, Threatened
07/28/97 New Tablet, Censored
07/26/97 Dominick Lamine, Unity Now, Imprisoned
07/26/97 Sahr Mbayoh, Unity Now, Imprisoned
07/26/97 Frank Kposowa, Unity Now,Threatened
07/26/97 Suliman Momodu, Concord Times, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),Threatened
07/19/97 Martins I. Martins, Business Vision, Imprisoned
07/14/97 Victor Silva, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Harassed
07/08/99 Fatmata Kamara, The Democrat, Imprisoned
07/08/97 Saloman Conteh, The Democrat, Imprisoned
07/08/97 Jeff Bowlay Williams, The Democrat, Imprisoned
07/08/97 Bundu Hayes, The Point, Imprisoned
07/08/97 Hilton Fyle, WBIG (FM 103), Imprisoned
06/04/97 Phillip Neville, Standard Times, Attacked
06/03/97 Ishmael Jalloh, Free-lancer, Killed
Jalloh, a freelance correspondent for independent newspapers including Punch, Storm, and Vision, was killed while covering a battle in Allentown between a combined battalion of RUF and AFRC fighters against ECOMOG soldiers. Jalloh died of wounds sustained from a rocket-propelled grenade.

05/25/97 President Kabbah overthrown
04/20/97 James Murray, Punch, Legal Action
04/20/97 James Murray, Punch, Legal Action
03/19/97 Gibril Koroma, Expo Times, Imprisoned
03/19/97 Charles Davis, Expo Times, Imprisoned
03/19/97 Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, Expo Times, Imprisoned
03/06/97 Harry Evans, Footprints, Imprisoned
03/03/97 Mohammed Karim, Footprints, Imprisoned
03/03/97 Njai Kanthba, Footprints, Imprisoned
01/24/97 Pat Kawa, Punch, Harassed, Legal Action
12/18/96 Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, Expo Times, Imprisoned
12/18/96 Charles Roberts, Expo Times, Imprisoned
11/05/96 Gibril Koroma, Expo Times, Legal Action
11/05/96 Max Jimmy, Expo Times, Legal Action
10/12/96 Hilton Fyle, 1 2 3, Legal Action
10/11/96 Sheka Parawali, Torchlight, Imprisoned, Legal Action
10/09/96 Max Jimmy, Expo Times, Attacked
09/06/96 Torchlight, Censored
08/28/96 Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, Expo Times, Imprisoned, Harassed
08/28/96 Gibril Koroma, Expo Times, Harassed
07/19/96 Edison Yongai, The Point, Imprisoned, Legal Action

For Additional Information Contact:
Kakuna Kerina
Director, Africa Program
212-661-0480 ext. 103
kkerina@ilhr.org