By Amos Harris
Yarpah Town, Rivercess County—The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) is speaking out against what it calls a “blatant abuse of judicial power” following the arrest and detention of two journalists, Eric Opa Doue and Methuselah Gaye, in Rivercess County. The PUL alleges that magistrates are misusing their authority to intimidate and silence reporters.
The arrests, which occurred on August 13, 2025, were carried out without legal representation for the journalists. Associate Magistrate Debah Zuku Debah of the Yarpah Town Magisterial Court and Associate Magistrate Dixon Yeahgar each issued a warrant. Magistrate Debah charged the reporters with “criminal contempt of court” for an article they published alleging that police officer Ojuku Weeks was bribed to release a drug suspect. A separate warrant, signed by Magistrate Yeahgar, accused the journalists of “criminal coercion” based on a complaint from the same officer.
The journalists later retracted the report after confirming the arrested suspect was Morris Doe, not Officer Weeks. Despite the retraction, they remained entangled in the legal proceedings.
PUL President Julius Kanubah described the arrests as a coordinated attack on press freedom. He stated that the judiciary in Rivercess County seems intent on using the courts to punish journalists for their reporting, which he called a “dangerous retreat” from Liberia’s commitment to international press freedom agreements, including the Declaration of Table Mountain and the Kamara Abdullah Kamara Act of Press Freedom.
The PUL also criticized the Cestos Magisterial Court for setting a bail amount of 60,000 Liberian dollars (approximately USD 300) for each journalist. The union argued this amount is punitive given the widespread poverty in the county. While Methuselah Gaye was able to post bail, Eric Opa Doue spent a night in Cestos Prison before being released on August 16.
The situation was further compounded when the county’s public defender, Abraham Nyounway, reportedly declined to represent the journalists, leaving them vulnerable to harassment.
In a concluding statement, the PUL called for all charges against the journalists to be dropped. The union urged individuals with grievances against the media to pursue legal and regulatory channels instead of using the courts to suppress free expression, stressing that the judiciary has a responsibility to uphold due process and protect the press as a vital pillar of democracy.