Syrenius Cephus, the publisher of the Plain Truth daily newspaper, and Michael Makinde, the general manager of the Seamarco Printing Press, are being held in connection with a report claiming that Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s government supplied arms to dissident forces in neighbouring Guinea.
“If the report that appeared in Plain Truth is baseless and defamatory, we think the authorities should be able to demonstrate it without having to arrest those responsible,” Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) said, calling for the release of both men.
Makinde, whose company prints Plain Truth, was arrested by the National Security Agency on December 12 for publishing information involving state security. The NSA accused him of “criminal facilitation” two days later. Cephus, who was arrested on December 14, has not yet been charged.
The only source cited in Plain Truth’s December 9 article was an unidentified member of the Guinean military government.
