Two journalists arrested on mayor's orders

2 Apr 2012

Two journalists, reporter Charles Yates of the Inquirer newspaper and Francis Nah of the US-based Liberia Times.com, have been the victims of police acting on instructions of Monrovia acting city mayor, Mary Broh.

The city mayor is said to have ordered her personal police escorts to arrest the two journalists, who were loaded in a pick up van on 25 March 2012.

According to journalist Charles Yates, the city mayor accused him of interfering with her work during a cleaning exercise. Mary Broh is said to have ordered that no commercial motorbikes use the route she was inspecting; something that got the journalist interested, that he sought to cross check.

"I told the city mayor that she is not above the law by diverting traffic. She got infuriated by the comment and ordered my arrest," a weeping Yates was quoted in the 26 March edition of Media Watch.

Charles Yates claimed that he was manhandled by the police as they threw him in a pick up van.

Whilst trying to intervene on behalf of his arrested colleague, journalist Francis Nah was also arrested.

Continue reading the full story on www.ifex.org.