AYV News, June 14, 2024

Sierra Leone journalists have started discussing the possibility of them carrying guns in self-defense.
The move, President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla said, follows recent reports of alleged virtual and physical attacks on several journalists by political supporters and the police.
Mr. Nasralla said: “Within the last two months the SLAJ has put out four pressers condemning three virtual plus one physical attacks on journalists. The virtual attacks, which included death threats allegedly from supporters close to the corridors of political power, were targeted at”.
He went on that since the Association signed the MoU with the security sector their relations with the Sierra Leone Police have improved. However, Monk said the recent attack on a journalist in Kenema city may be the second physical attack by the police since they signed the MoU.
President Nasralla said: “According to the data from the Media Reform Coordinating Group we are seeing a steady pattern of increasing virtual attacks, including death threats, from political supporters (and traditional leaders) targeting independent and critical journalists. This has been the case well before the June 24, 2023, national elections”.