By ManoReporters Staff Writer
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has condemned the arrest of a Sierra Leonean journalist on allegations of cyberbullying.
Journalist Shar Maturi, who works for the Freetown daily Standard Times Newspaper as a senior reporter, was briefly detained on August 27, 2025, by officers of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Sierra Leone Police. But he was reportedly released the same day following the intervention of the umbrella Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and the reporter’s media outlet.
SLAJ Secretary General Edward Marrah is quoted saying that Maturi’s arrest was linked to a report he published two weeks earlier, which alleged misappropriation of funds involving a Member of Parliament and a community leader.
The incident follows a string of arrests in relation to this piece of legislation which media rights groups have warned poses a threat to press freedom.
The Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021 has been criticized by rights as a replacement of the notorious Part Five of the Public Order Act, which was repealed after over five decades of campaign. The government says it’s necessary to protect against abuse online and the country’s cyber security infrastructure, but critics say it is prone to abuse by powerful people against opponents, particularly journalists, as has been seen recently in several cases.
Almost at the same time Mr Maturi was detained, reports emerged that another, Thomas Dickson, the Chairman of the Guild of Newspaper Editors, was also invited by police on suspicion of committing similar offence.
To make matters worse for the media fraternity in Sierra Leone, another potentially draconian law in before the country’s president awaiting his signature to take effect. The Counter-terrorism Act 2024 was passed by lawmakers in May. Campaigners have since called on President Julius Maada Bio not to sign it, citing its effect on free speech, notably the vagueness of the provisions that leaves it open for abuse.
“The MFWA condemns the arrest of Shar Maturi and urges Sierra Leonean authorities to desist from weaponising laws such as the Cyber Security and Crime Act,” said the Accra based watchdog in a press statement. “Authorities must also ensure that new legislation, including the proposed Counter-Terrorism Bill, upholds constitutional guarantees of press freedom and civic engagement, rather than eroding them.”
