Adoption of Counter-Terrorism Bill by Parliament sparks concerns among press freedom advocates

Expression

Parliament adopts Counter-Terrorism Bill, sparking concerns on press freedom

On 11th March 2025, Sierra Leone’s parliament adopted the Counter-Terrorism Bill, sparking criticism from the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and other press freedom advocates. SLAJ warned that vaguely worded provisions in the bill could be used to penalise journalists and unduly restrict public discourse. A few days earlier, On 7th March 2025, SLAJ had released a position paper on the Counter-Terrorism Bill.

In an analysis of the bill, press freedom organisations Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and Reporters without Borders (RSF) highlighted the following concerns, which they say would put journalists in Sierra Leone at risk of prosecution, if enacted by President Julius Maada Bio:

• Terrorist acts, vaguely defined in the bill in its Section 12, could be penalised with prison sentences of up to 30 years. According to the bill, “a terrorist act is committed when an act of violence or threat of violence (…) is “prejudicial to national security or public safety” (…) or creates “fear”. According to RSF, this broad definition could put journalists, reporting on sensitive or controversial subjects, at risk of prosecution;
• Section 4 of the bill gives authorities broad powers to “request and obtain information, where it considers it necessary, from any person or authority”;
• Under Sections 17(f) and 32 (f), sharing information that the sender “knows” to be false or for which the sender “has reasonable grounds to suspect to be false” could be punishable by life in prison and 15 years in prison, respectively;
• Section 21 criminalises the distribution and circulation of publications “with the intent to provide encouragement (…) for the instigation, preparation or commission of an act of terrorism, punishable with a prison sentence of minimum 25 years, while Section 22 penalises “distributing, sharing or disseminating” online materials “linked to a terrorist, a terrorist group, terrorist entity”.

The West Africa Network of activists and Media Defence Lawyers (WANAMDEL), a coalition of press freedom and human rights lawyers across West Africa, said in a statement that the bill fails to distinguish between violent conduct and non-violent civic engagement, lacks safeguards for media professionals and human rights defenders, while also lacking in judicial oversight and the imposition of strict liability offences that could carry severe penalties, even in the absence of intent.

Social media influencer arrested for criticising the President and the First Lady

On 22nd December 2024, social media influencer Hawa Hunt was arrested on live television while starring in the reality show ‘House of Stars’, in relation to a video she posted in May 2023, in which she criticised President Julius Maada Bio and his wife, the First Lady. Hunt was held for over two months on charges of ‘transmitting insulting messages via a computer system’ under the 2021 Cybersecurity and Crime Act, while prosecutors also claimed that the video incited public disorder and damaged the reputation of the president and his wife. According to Amnesty International, multiple requests for bail had been refused.

On 4th March 2025, Hunt was finally released after a Court of Appeal in Freetown acquitted Hunt of all charges.

Journalists detained, interrogated

On 12th February 2025, Dutch journalist Sophie Van Leeuwen, a correspondent for Dutch media outlet RTL Nieuws, and local journalist with Public Review Newspaper, Joseph Turay, were detained at a police roadblock near Freetown. Van Leeuwen was taken to the headquarters of the Police’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for interrogation, according to the police “in connection with her activities in Sierra Leone”.

The Dutch journalist was in Sierra Leone to report on Dutch fugitive Johannes Leijdekkers, who was convicted in absentia in the Netherlands and sentenced to 24 years in prison in relation to drug trafficking, while living freely in Sierra Leone.

While Turay was reportedly released earlier, Van Leeuwen was released on 13th February 2025. According to the journalist, who spoke with media on the incident, police accused her during the interrogation of being a ‘danger to national security’ and ‘espionage’. According to RTL Nieuws, Van Leeuwen had accreditation to report in Sierra Leone. The journalist left the country a few days later, after she was cleared of all accusations on 16th February. Police reportedly returned Van Leeuwen’s belongings – passport, mobile phone, camera – but withheld her SD card, reportedly citing “security reasons”. In a statement to the press in April 2025, Turay said he had gone into hiding due to threats to his life and security. He further said that their detention was “part of a broader crackdown on independent media and journalists investigating corruption and illicit activities”.

Journalist banned from covering Parliament

On 10th January 2025, Rt. Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas, Speaker of Sierra Leone’s Parliament, imposed an indefinite ban on journalist Melvin Tejan Mansaray, member of the Sierra Leone Parliamentary Press Gallery (SLPPG), without due process, reportedly accusing the journalist of ‘insulting conduct’, including calling Members of Parliament “useless” and accusing the Speaker of Parliament of rigging the parliamentary elections. The journalist was subsequently expelled from the Parliament’s premises.

On 4th March 2025, the journalist appeared before the Privileges and Ethics Committee of the Parliament, where he offered a formal apology and pledged to retract the statements at the basis of the conflict. The Committee reportedly discontinued the hearing and adjourned the matter sine die (indefinitely).

Journalist reportedly threatened

According to the MFWA, journalist Thomas Josephus Dixon, editor of Salone Newspaper and publisher of New Age Newspaper, went into hiding after he reportedly received a threatening message from the Inspector General of Police, William Fayia Sellu. The message – “Thomas, you have crossed the red line” reportedly followed a Facebook post by Dixon in which he accused the police of arbitrarily denying bail to arrested citizens as a result of “orders from above”. According to news reports, the incident was amicably resolved during a meeting between the leadership of the police, the Inspector General, the SLAJ and Dixon.

Peaceful Assembly

Protest banned, organisers detained

According to news reports and Lawyers’ Society, police detained activists Thomas Babadi and Wadi William of a group called Concerned Sierra Leoneans on 4th December 2024, ahead of a protest planned for 10th December 2024 before the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone to demand the publication of polling station electoral results of the June 2023 general elections.

On 5th December 2024, the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) issued a public notice stating that the proposed protest had been banned after meeting Babadi and William, stating grounds of disruption of public order and risks to national stability. The SLP further added that the notice sent by the organisers had not complied with legal requirements set out in the Public Order Act.

Babadi and William, reportedly having been remanded in custody due to ‘unclear statements’ in their communication related to the protest and their failure to meet procedural requirements, were released on 13th December 2024.