16/08/2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PUL Decries Abuse of Judicial Power against Journalists in Rivercess County
(16 August 2025): The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) is alarmed by what appears to be a coordinated legal campaign aimed at harassing, intimidating, and silencing journalists in Rivercess County. The Union detests in the strongest terms the calculated detention and ongoing judicial persecution of journalists Eric Opa Doue and Methuselah Gaye, describing it as a blatant abuse of judicial authority.
In a statement, the PUL demanded that Associate Magistrate Debah Zuku Debah of the Yarpah Town Magisterial Court, and both Associate Magistrate Dixon Yeahgar and Stipendiary Magistrate Colston Flemming of the Cestos City Magisterial Court immediately cease all forms of harassment and unlawful detention of the two journalists.
Since Wednesday, 13 August 2025, without any form of legal representation, the journalists have been subjected to two separate but closest comparable arrest warrants and sent to jail:
The first warrant issued by Magistrate Debah, charges them with “Criminal Contempt of Court” for allegedly publishing “false, misleading, and unfounded information” on social media that questioned the integrity of the Yarpah Town Magisterial Court. The reporting in question linked the Court to alleged bribery in the release of police officer Ojuku Weeks, who it had been reported was arrested by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) for possession of narcotics.
The second warrant, issued by Magistrate Yeahgar, charges them with “Criminal Coercion”, a case brought at the request of the same police officer (Ojuku Weeks) acting as a private prosecutor, effectively following up on the earlier contempt allegation.
The journalists acknowledged that the naming of police officer Ojuku in their reporting was based on accounts of their sources, but a retraction was made once it became clear the arrested drug suspect was Morris Doe, instead.
PUL President Julius Kanubah expressed outrage over what he described as “a strategically orchestrated attack on the press by a network of judicial and state actors in Rivercess County.”
He added:
“We are deeply disturbed that, despite the decriminalization of free speech offenses through the enact of the Kamara Abdullah Kamara Act of Press Freedom and Liberia’s formal commitment to the Declaration of Table Mountain—which calls for the elimination of criminal defamation laws—a group of judicial and state actors appears determined to misuse criminal provisions of judicial laws to punish journalists for their work. This is an abuse of judicial power and a dangerous retreat from Liberia’s obligations to protect press freedom.”
The PUL is further alarmed by reports that the Cestos Magisterial Court imposed excessive bail of 60,000 Liberian Dollars (approximately USD 300) on each journalist, a punitive measure in a county where poverty is widespread. While Methuselah Gaye secured temporary release after spending the night of Thursday, 14 August 2025, in jail and posting bail without legal counsel, Eric Opa Doue was taken to prison on Friday, 15 August 2025, at Cestos Prison, unable to immediately pay the cash bond.
Such excessive bail coupled with the questionable refusal of the Public Defender Abraham Nyounway to represent and sign for each of the journalists, the PUL notes, effectively criminalizes journalism and sets a dangerous precedent for journalists in rural areas, who already operate in environments rife with political interference and systemic abuse of authority.
Although Eric was released on early Saturday, 16 August 2025, after spending a night in jail, the Union wants the purging of all criminal charges against them and urges all individuals and institutions with grievances about media reporting to use appropriate legal and regulatory channels, rather than weaponizing the courts to punish journalists and suppress journalism.
Judicial actors must uphold due process, safeguard freedom of expression, and respect the press as an essential pillar of Liberia’s democracy, the release concluded.
Signed:
Julius Kanubah
President/PUL
