The African Court on Human and People’s Rights has ruled that jailing people on criminal defamation is a violation of the right to free expression, a move that has been welcomed by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ).
The ruling was made on Friday 5 December in a case of journalist ‘Konaté v Burkina Faso’ saying that imprisonment for defamation violates the right to freedom of expression and that criminal defamation laws should only be used in restricted circumstances.
In a press release, SLAJ says it views this ruling by the highest court on the African continent as “a major boost” in its struggle to have the Sierra Leone Government repeal criminal defamation.
“We will study it and see how it applies to Sierra Leone” SLAJ president Kelvin Lewis says.
In March this year, 18 non-governmental organisations intervened as ‘friends of the court’ in the Konaté case at the African Court in Arusha, Tanzania, to address growing concerns over the use of criminal defamation laws to censor journalists and others in Africa.
The judgment is binding on all African Union (AU) member states, Sierra Leone inclusive.
The SLAJ statement draws the attention of the Sierra Leone Government to the ruling and urges that “reasonable steps be taken by the authorities to ensure the right to freedom of expression is protected”.
© Politico 09/12/14
