Shar Maturi, a senior reporter with the Standard Times Newspaper, was briefly detained on August 27, 2025, at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Freetown over allegations of cyberbullying and stalking. He was released the same day following the intervention of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and his media outlet.
According to Edward Marrah, Secretary General of the SLAJ, the arrest was linked to a report Maturi published two weeks earlier, alleging misappropriation of funds involving a Member of Parliament and a community chairman.
In recent years, journalists and commentators in Sierra Leone have been detained or harassed under cyber-related provisions, prompting concerns about self-censorship and a rollback in press freedom. Although the Cyber Security and Crime Act was intended to curb cybercrime, media associations and civil society organisations, including the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), have long warned that its vague provisions are open to abuse and can be used to stifle accountability journalism and online expression.
The arrest of Shar Maturi illustrates these concerns. It also echoes growing concerns around Sierra Leone’s proposed Counter-Terrorism Bill, which similarly contains broad and ambiguous language that could be weaponised against journalists, activists and civic actors. Both laws risk undermining the country’s commitments to regional and international treaties on free expression.
The MFWA condemns the arrest of Shar Maturi and urges Sierra Leonean authorities to desist from weaponising laws such as the Cyber Security and Crime Act. Authorities must also ensure that new legislation, including the proposed Counter-Terrorism Bill, upholds constitutional guarantees of press freedom and civic engagement, rather than eroding them.
