#SierraLeone police yesterday stormed AYV TV to arrest journalist Fayia Amara Fayia. He was on live TV when the police stormed the broadcasting house. (See his post below )attached.
Mr .Fayia was arrested because he publicized the wild demonstration staged by the U.S-based Concerned Sierra Leoneans for Good Governance, Democracy and Human Rights against President Maada Bio in New York on Thursday as he addressed the UN General Assembly.
The news quickly went viral on social media and many Sierra Leoneans roundly condemned it while another unpleasant event was playing out in Kambia Tonko Limba where a council election was going on ( See report in other column ).
Mr. Fayia was whisked to the Police and detained at the CID after interrogation, where he spent hours before Vice-President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh ordered his release. He was later released well in the evening.
Fayia later posted the following on his Facebook page :
“BAIL GRANTED…
Thanks to colleagues, friends, the International Media and Human Rights Groups, Concerned Sierra Leoneans home and abroad.
I remain committed, hard-nosed to the People’s course!”
CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE FAYIAH BEING ARRESTED : https://www.facebook.com/cecil.pratt/videos/10156710571906613/?t=3
Abu Kargbo Fayia Amara Fayia, all liberal voices across the world will support you until you are released unconditionally. We expect the AYV Empire to tell the world what they did or could have done to prevent this from happening in the first place.
There has been numerous concerns about the intensity of AYV’s support for this government, to the extent that most liberal media commentators are now rejecting calls from AYV.
The last time I was at AYV with Leema, I was stopped in several occasions from digressing from the topic, while Leema was given the freedom to bring in several issues that were irrelevant to the discourse. I am not saying AYV lacked objectivity in entirety, but some of their programmes that has to do with politics are mostly micromanaged behind the scenes through the sphere of agenda setting.
To the SLP, the arrest of Fayia Amara Fayia will only embolden free speech in the country, as per the dictates of our national constitution and democratic values. We survived under a dreadful military rule and Juntarism. Therefore, state’s condoned intimidations and arbitrary arrests will not deter us from continuing to be vocal or hold the government to account.
