MONROVIA – The Press Union of Liberia (PUL), in support of FrontPage Africa (FPA), is inviting all journalists and media professionals to show up at Criminal Court C on June 13, 2023, to express their support for the newspaper and their colleagues at a criminal contempt trial on Tuesday.
According to a PUL press release, the Criminal Court had summoned FrontPage Africa’s management and the entire staff to testify over their reporting of the $100 million drug burst in Monrovia and to provide their sources to the court.
FrontPage Africa reported the distribution of $500,000 to jurors and other members of the Liberian judiciary to influence the outcome of the case. The court is citing the management of FPA to appear before it on June 13, 2023 “to show cause why it should not be held in contempt “and to establish and prove where, when, how and who received and splashed” the U$500 thousand the paper reported to have been splashed to influence the jurors.
Journalists and media workers are asked by the Press Union of Liberia to assemble at the Criminal Court on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. in a show of support for their colleagues at FPA.
In the current discussion around the $100 million drug bust, the PUL contends that sources used in the practice of journalism are safeguarded by all reasonable measures and cannot be turned over to a court at the center of the drug debate.
The PUL argued that it is crucial to protect sources of the media because disclosing the names of organizations and individuals who provide the media information will undermine the public’s confidence in media organizations and scare away authentic sources of information that are necessary to the public’s right to know.
The Press Union of Liberia, meanwhile, has expressed outrage that the Criminal Court decided to proceed with the criminal contempt hearing on Tuesday while ignoring the organization that represents journalists in Liberia plead to drop the case.
