FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS (CPJ)

SIERRA LEONE:

James Ogogo, Concord Times, January 8, 1999, Freetown

Ogogo, a Nigerian journalist for the independent Concord Times, was murdered by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in Freetown on the evening of January 8. An eyewitness reported that a group of rebels sought out Ogogo at the newspaper's offices on Pademba Road, shouting that they were "looking for the Nigerian journalist."

The rebels tied Ogogo to the back of a truck and dragged him in the direction of the State House. Before reaching the State House, the rebels stopped the truck, untied Ogogo, and told him to start walking. They then opened fire and killed him.

RUF rebels regarded Nigerian journalists as partisans of the Nigerian-led West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG), brought in to support government troops in the ongoing civil war in Sierra Leone.


Jenner "J.C." Cole, SKY-FM, January 9, 1999, Freetown

Cole, an on-air broadcaster with the independent radio station SKY-FM, was abducted by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels from his home near Sandars Street in central Freetown. He was being taken along with other captives to an RUF base in the east end of Freetown when a distraction caused by a West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG) plane flying overhead allowed the other prisoners to flee.

Cole, who was prevented by the RUF rebels from escaping, was shot dead by his abductors, in front of his fiancée. RUF forces reportedly entered Freetown with a list of journalists to be eliminated for what was perceived as "anti-RUF" coverage.


Mabay Kamara, free-lancer, January 9, 1999, Freetown

Kamara, a free-lance reporter who contributed to the now defunct newspaper Vision, was abducted by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels from his house on Soldier Street near the State House in central Freetown and subsequently murdered. A female RUF commander ordered Kamara's abduction, which was witnessed by his wife. Rebels set the Kamara residence on fire before leaving the area.


Mohammed Kamara, SKY-FM, January 9, 1999, Freetown

Kamara, a correspondent for the independent radio station SKY-FM, was shot dead by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels on Siaka Stevens Street in central Freetown. The journalist covered court proceedings, including the treason trials that followed President Kabbah's reinstatement. Kabbah was ousted by RUF forces in May 1997, and returned to power in March 1998, with the help of the Nigerian-led West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG).


Paul Mansaray, Standard Times, January 9, 1999, Freetown

Mansaray was deputy editor of the independent Standard Times. He, his wife, their two young children, and a nephew were murdered by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels at their home in Calabar Town, east of Freetown. A fellow journalist who was with Mansaray and his family at the time saw the rebels approaching the house and escaped through a window as Mansaray was alerting his family to flee.

The RUF rebels were overheard shouting at Mansaray and threatening him about his journalistic work. They set the house ablaze, firing their weapons into it as it burned to the ground with Mansaray and his family inside.


Munir Turay, free-lancer, January 1999, Freetown

Turay, a free-lance reporter working for the independent newspaper Punch and the state-owned Daily Mail, as well as the state-owned Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service, was killed sometime between January 9 and January 15 in Kissy, in Freetown's east end. The exact circumstances of his death are unknown, but colleagues who attended his funeral on February 9 reported that he had bullet holes in his back.

At that time, rebel forces, consisting of members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and renegade soldiers of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), were systematically murdering journalists, and Turay's colleagues were in no doubt that he had been killed for this reason.


Alpha Amadu Bah, Independent Observer, January 17, 1999, Freetown

A group of about 20 rebels from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the former Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) killed Amadu Bah, a sports reporter for the daily Independent Observer, at his home on Kissy Road in the east end of Freetown.

According to an eyewitness, the rebels who came to Amadu Bah's house asked for a different person, who was out at the time. The rebels then set the house on fire and shot Amadu Bah dead as he was trying to flee. Two of Amadu Bah's colleagues (one of whom witnessed the killing) told CPJ that, considering the rebels' hatred of the press, they were certain that he had been killed because he was a journalist.



Abdulai Jumah Jalloh, African Champion, February 3, 1999, Freetown

Jalloh was news editor of the independent newspaper African Champion. He was killed by a West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG) soldier in central Freetown, according to local journalists. Jalloh and the newspaper's editor, Mohammed D. Koroma, were on their way to a printing company near the state house when a passerby claimedÑin the presence of ECOMOG soldiersÑthat Jalloh was a Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel and accused him of arson. Jalloh denied the charge, as did Koroma, who told the ECOMOG soldiers that Jalloh's own house had been burned by RUF rebels.

The soldiers warned Koroma not to continue defending Jalloh. An unidentified ECOMOG officer then took Jalloh aside and executed him at point-blank range.


Conrad Roy, Expo Times, April 30, 1999, Freetown

Roy, former news editor of the banned Expo Times newspaper, died after contracting tuberculosis in Freetown's central prison. The Sierra Leone government shut down the newspaper in 1997, claiming that it was run by sympathizers of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel movement.

In December 1998, Roy appeared at the magistrate's court, where he was convicted of treason, aiding and abetting the enemy, and conspiring to overthrow the government. Roy was released from prison during the RUF occupation of Freetown in January 1999. After RUF forces retreated from the city in February, he was rearrested by soldiers of the Nigerian-led peacekeeping force (ECOMOG). Roy contracted tuberculosis in prison. He received no medical treatment until April 26, four days before his death in the Lakka TB Hospital, 10 miles south of Freetown.