On May 26, police officers in the northwestern town of Kamakwie arrested Sesay, a reporter with the privately owned Okentuhun Radio FM broadcaster’s “Latest Happening” news program, seized his phone, and detained him, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.
Authorities transferred Sesay to the police headquarters in Freetown, the capital, and released him on bail on May 31, he said, adding that the case stemmed from a message he forwarded to the Latest Happening WhatsApp group, which he runs and where he shares information about stories he covers on-air.
As of June 13, police were continuing their investigation but had not cited any specific laws he was alleged to have violated, and had not returned his phone, he said. National police spokesperson Brima Kamara told CPJ via text message that investigations were ongoing and authorities had not decided whether to charge him with a crime.
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