Rodney Sieh has just been released from prison in Liberia, for good.
Rodney's Message
Free Rodney Sieh – Imprisoned Liberian Editor and Publisher of FrontPage Africa from Visual Communications - SU on Vimeo.
Video by Jim Tuttle, Jessica Suarez and Kristina Subsara Newhouse Multimedia Photography & Design
How Did This Happen?
Rodney Sieh — publisher of FrontPage Africa — has had a hand in attracting praise for Liberia: his newspaper and website has highlighted wrongdoing and graft that is not only ignored elsewhere, but accepted.
So Why Was Sieh Jailed August 23?
The official line is that Sieh’s failed to pay a $1.5 million fine for libeling the government agriculture minister.
The ludicrousness of such a charge — and the expectation that anyone in Sieh’s position could pay such a figure— is as evident as the work still to be done to continue to address Liberia’s many problems.
Sieh — and a free press, one could argue — are more critical to holding Liberia accountable for its problems than any elected leader past, present or future. Calling attention to problems is the first and often most important step to solving them.
In her speech in Oslo, Norway, when Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf accepted the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to and furtherance of the democratic process on an uncertain continent, she said:
Nobel Prize Winner, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
"This award belongs to the people whose aspirations we have the privilege to represent, and whose rights we have the obligation to defend. We are but their reflection. With such a distinction comes great responsibility. History will judge us not by what we say in this moment in time, but by what we do next to lift the lives of our countrymen and women. It will judge us by the legacy we leave behind for generations to come."
2011 Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies
Rodney Sieh needs our voices now to lift him from his Monrovia jail cell and put him back in the publisher’s seat where he has been such a positive force for the nation and people he has loved and protected.
So Why Care?
Because Rodney Sieh and FrontPage Africa Is Making A Difference
FrontPage Africa's reporting has garnished numerous awards (in collaboration with New Narratives) and their work has been published in the New York Times, PBS Newshour, NPR, The Guardian among others.
2013 Awards
- German Media Development Prize for Africa, Wade Williams
- Journalist of the Year, Press Union of Liberia, Wade Williams
- Best Human Rights Story, LMC/JHR Awards, Massa Kanneh
2012 Awards
- Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, Mae Azango
- CPJ Press Freedom Award, Mae Azango
- Newspaper of the Year for Best Human Rights stories, Liberia Media Center
- Newspaper of the Year for Best Human Rights stories, Journalist for Human Rights
- LMC/JHR Arch Bishop Micheal K. Francis Human Rights award, Wade Williams
- Legislative Reporter of the year, Wade Williams, Press Union of Liberia
- Dag Hammerskjold Fund Fellowship, Wade Williams
2011 Awards
- Pulitzer Fellowship, Tecee Boley
- Pulitzer Center Grant Winner, Tecee Boley
- Investigative Journalist of the year, Nat Bayjay, Press Union of Liberia
- Women's Rights Reporter of the Year, Clara Mallah
- Newspaper of the Year, Press Union of Liberia
Statements of Support
The publisher of one of the most important news operations on the African continent has been jailed and now hospitalized -- and he needs the journalism community and its powerful friends to stand up for him and with him.
We have been working closely with the Newhouse Tully Center for Free Speech, students, international lawyers and the leading press freedom organizations to secure Rodney's release but I ask you to call upon any resources at your disposal, adding to the pressure on the Liberian Government.
Syracuse University, Newhouse School, Alexia Foundation
Letter in support of Rodney Sieh and press Freedom to Liberian President Sirleaf
It is our hope that you will do the right thing for Liberia and for Mr. Sieh, by stepping in to send the right message to your citizens and Mr. Sieh's partners and friends around the world that are watching. There can be no real and true democracy in your country without a free and unfettered press
VisitHuman Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Global Witness
Liberia: Letter to President Sirleaf
We write today to express our concerns about Liberia’s libel laws, which fail to meet international standards on freedom of expression and the media. They allow excessive judgments and undermine the right to appeal, which has been evident in the recent case and imprisonment of Mr. Rodney Sieh, editor-in-chief of FrontPage Africa.
VisitThe National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL)
1450 Civil society organizations call for release of Rodney Sieh
All of Liberia’s 1450 Civil society organizations call for the immediate release of Liberia's FrontPageAfrica Managing Editor Rodney Sieh.
VisitCommittee to Protect Journalists
Liberian news outlet shut down, publisher jailed
Abuja, Nigeria, August 23, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemns moves by Liberian authorities to shut down FrontPageAfrica and jail its publisher for not paying US$1.5 million in damages related to a libel conviction.
VisitReporters Without Borders
Newspaper editor jailed for inability to pay astronomical damages
Reporters Without Borders condemns FrontPage Africa editor Rodney Sieh’s imprisonment after Liberia’s supreme court upheld a decision ordering him to pay former agriculture minister Chris Toe 1.6 million dollars (1.2 million euros) in libel damages.
VisitNew Narratives
Demanding Editor’s Release
New Narratives believes no democracy can thrive without a free press. Liberia’s Nobel laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has frequently spoken about the importance of a vibrant media in her country’s efforts to rebuild. The actions against FrontPage Africa will make all Liberian media afraid to report the truth.
VisitTully Center For Free Speech - SI Newhouse School of Public Communications
A Call To Free Rodney Sieh
I am writing you on behalf of the Liberian journalist Rodney Sieh, who last week was imprisoned in Monrovia. Mr. Sieh, a noted journalist, founder of FrontPage Africa, worked on a journalism project with one of my colleagues here...I am writing you as the director of the Tully Center for Free Speech, which advocates for free speech and press values anywhere journalists are threatened and published for their work.
Visit
Now What?
The publisher of one of the most important news operations on the African continent has been jailed and now hospitalized -- and he needs the journalism community and its powerful friends to stand up for him and with him.
We have been working closely with the academic institutions, students, international lawyers and the leading press freedom organizations to secure Rodney's release but I ask you to call upon any resources at your disposal, adding to the pressure on the Liberian Government.
Prof. Ken Harper | SI Newhouse School of Public Communications | Syracuse University