AYV is drawing the attention of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, the Independent Media Commission and the entire security sector especially the Sierra Leone Police to the arrest of Mohamed Khan after his appearance on AYV’s Wake Up Sierra Leone this morning.
Mr Khan, the Interim Chairman of Teachers Solidarity was invited as a guest on the programme and was arrested just outside AYV’s premises soon after he left the show.
As a private and professional media institution in Sierra Leone, AYV dissociates itself from the action of the Sierra Leone Police and would like to remind the SLP that its work is guided and protected by statutes including the most supreme law; the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
Therefore, we kindly ask that the security forces refrain from making AYV’s premises a target location for arbitrary arrests as this will hinder our operations as a media institution and also infringe on the right to free speech which is guaranteed by the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
In addition, AYV is seriously concerned about the detention of Mr Khan for which the SLP has not provided a reason on record nor confirmed whether they had a warrant of arrest. We kindly request such information to be made public to promote law and order and prevent similar recurrence.
