Doing so, he explained, will likely take a toll his ability to fund the operations of his paper
The government has also targeted other newspapers. Sirleaf has personally filed lawsuits against two newspapers. Similarly, her son Robert Sirleaf, whom she appointed as chairman of the National Oil Company of Liberia, has sued a local paper for libel. Although these suits were dropped or settled due to international pressure, they have had a chilling effect on critical reporting about the government or government officials, as newspaper editors tend to engage in self-censorship to avoid libel suits and the expense that come with them.
The Costa Case
The other case that illustrates government efforts to stifle the press involves the host of a political talk radio show, Henry Costa, who regularly criticizes the president and other officials. In several of his broadcasts, Costa accused Fumbah Sirleaf, another son of President Sirleaf and also her National Security Agency (NSA) chief, of making constant threats against him. Costa challenged the NSA chief to a duel. Listeners said Costa was clearly speaking in jest, but the government put him in jail on March 21, on charges of making “terroristic threats.”
Costa was slapped with $3,000 bail—unusually high for Liberia. Shortly after his release, the owner of the radio station that hosted his show took him off the air. Costa quickly managed to set up his own radio station by Feb. 3, but within a month the government broadcast regulatory body, the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), summoned Costa to show why his radio license should not be withdrawn. LTA insisted it was a violation of his non-commercial license to broadcast commercials. Significantly, this is the first time the government has taken such action against a station with a non-commercial license that carries commercials in its broadcasts. Costa
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the president of Liberia, was once imprisoned for criticizing the government.
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