SLAJ urges Government to follow Uganda’s example
Freetown – Uganda’s Supreme Court has ruled that the country’s Seditious Libel Law is inconsistent with Freedom of Expression which is guaranteed by its constitution. The five-member panel said the law did not fall within the acceptable limit of free speech and struck seditious libel off the country’s law books.
This is exactly what SLAJ was trying to prove when in February 2008 the association took a similar move to have our Supreme Court do what their Ugandan counterparts have done. Our highest court however saw the need to rule as such. We however remain steadfast in seeking a repeal of the obnoxious law that allows journalists to be locked up sometimes allowing for pre-trial detention.
“Sierra Leone should conform to the norms of civilised standards and repeal the Criminal and Seditious Libel law”, says Umaru Fofana, SLAJ President. “This is as bad a law today as it has always been, and it is bad for journalists and non-journalists alike” he continues. He says the association still awaits a commitment made early this year by President Ernest Bai Koroma that he would review the law before the end of his current term in September 2012.
Signed: Ismael Koroma, Ag National Secretary General, SLAJ
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