Police Shut Chronicle Newspaper Office in Monrovia

Police barricaded the officers of the National Chronicle Newspaper on Carey Street Thursday evening with the publisher locked in for several hours. In recent time the paper has been very critical on the operation of the current government, thus releasing series of articles. The closure of the paper’s offices flowed a few hours after Information Minister Lewis Brown issued an unexplained threat against journalists at a news conference in Monrovia, two persons have been arrested at The Chronicle Newspaper with the paper closed down.

In a statement the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) described the action of the government as disappointing and disgusting. “The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) is disappointed and disgusted by Thursday’s forced and illegal closure of the National Chronicle Newspaper and the arrest of several staff of the paper, including News Editor Emmanuel Mensah and IT Officer Emmanuel Logan and the manhandling of Philibert S. Browne, Jr.” stated the Press Union.

“The Press Union sees these actions as a further expression of intolerance and an unwarranted attack on the free press, and calls upon President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to immediately denounce this action, release the staff and reopen the National Chronicle.”

The PUL President Abdullai Kamara said the action of the government, which is yet to be explained from the highest level of the Police, “strengthens the distrust between the government and the media, undermines the rule of laws and lays to waste the fruitful collaboration that has existed in the fight against the Ebola virus.”

A few hours later, the government forces sprayed tear gas into the building where the publisher Mr. Phillibert Brown was still taking refuge and forced their way into the building and arrested the two.

Speaking to journalists immediately following the incident, the vice President of the Press Union of Liberia the umbrella organization for journalists, confirmed the action of the state security, the Liberia National Police. “The office of The Chronicle was barricaded today and sealed by the police, they moved in there, Mr. Brown and his staffs were removed from their office, we heard that the police used teargas but that is yet to be verified,” he said.

“But the police managed to force their way in and get Mr. Phillibert Brown out of his office and closed it up, currently he is not in his office, this is more or less a harassment of the media; if a journalist comes in conflict with the law the best thing to do is to take them to court.” Grayfield said the two arrested are Emmanuel Mensah, news editor and IT officer Emmanuel Logan and the offices of the paper were shut down by the police.

“As may be recalled the president signed the table mountain declaration and is a recipient of an award from the African editor forum,” he said. “If the president will be there and media practitioners are harassed, it is worrisome and this is happening at a time when there is a report of a list of journalists to be arrested.”

The whereabouts of Brown remains unknown, as he was not arrested according to Grayfield. Earlier in the day before the arrest, Information minister Brown warned journalists against critical reporting during the state of emergency. “We are in a state of emergency; this is not the time for business as usual. We did not declare a state of emergency because we thought things were normal,” he said early Thursday.

“We’re beginning to see all sorts of reports as if we are in normal times. Please, please, if you cannot help us, don’t hurt us. That’s the last warning you will ever hear from me.”