___ Ukraine-Liberia Friendship Organization
Srednefontanskaya Street 32A, Apartment 57; Odessa 65039, Ukraine
Tel.: (+38093)148-1343; Fax: (+38048)766-7256; E-mail: Lufo_org@yahoo.com ; State Registration Certificate No. 1199;
Date: ____June 5, 2008_______

Free Journalist Bill Jarkloh Now Campaign

There is a legal case of journalist Bill Jarkloh who has been imprisoned, falsely accused of raping and sodomizing a small girl. According to independent reports, this allegation has been concocted against him. In fact, the girl had testified in court that it was someone other than the journalist who had raped her. Despite, the Chief Justice of Liberia (Mr. Johnny Lewis) had ordered the journalist’s continuing detention in prison, baffling and postponing the trial of the case for time indefinite. We herewith, in the strongest possible terms, categorically denounce and condemn the continuing detention in prison of Mr. Bill Jarkloh without trial. It is a flagrant abuse and brazen violation of human rights when a person is denied the chance to prove his or her innocence in a competent court of justice.

It is well-known that Bill is a progressive and out-spoken investigative journalist in contemporary Liberia. He is the Public Relations Officer of the Ghanaian Embassy in Liberia and a one- time winner of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) Feature Writer Award. We believe that the decision by the Chief Justice to prolong the journalist’s detention in jail and his apparent unwillingness to call and transparently judge the case is intended solely as a scarecrow to frighten other journalists and to muffle the press as a whole.

In light of the foregoing, we are embarking on this important campaign to sound an appeal to media institutions and human rights organizations to help in calling on the Chief Justice and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia to free Journalist Bill Jarkloh without delay. We are doing so to protest against this glaring miscarriage of justice. Let’s help fight against human rights abuse, corruption, intimidation of journalists and lack of transparent justice in post-war Liberia.


Yours in the cause,

Nyenetu Jarkloh.
Secretary/Human Rights Committee & Vice President
Ukraine-Liberia Friendship Society
E-mail: Lufo_org@yahoo.com; jnjarkloh@yahoo.com