n a strongly-worded press release issued today, the League of Democracy Advocates (LoDA) has expressed deep concern over the arrest and detention of Lawyer Joy Precious Bayoh by the Sierra Leone Police.

The arrest reportedly stems from criticisms she made on a Presidential Tweet’s Account regarding a controversial meeting involving the Executive of the Sierra Leone Bar Association.

According to LoDA, Lawyer Bayoh’s detention appears to be in direct violation of her constitutional right to Freedom of Speech, as guaranteed under Chapter Three, Section 25 of the 1991 National Constitution of Sierra Leone.

The organization emphasized that the arrest is a clear infringement of her fundamental human rights.Furthermore, LoDA highlighted that the actions of the Sierra Leone Police may constitute a breach of ARTICLE 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which prohibits arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile.

Ibrahim Sorie Dumbuya, Executive Director of LoDA, called upon the Sierra Leone Police to immediately release Lawyer Bayoh unconditionally and issue a public apology to her,” the press release stated.

LoDA affirmed its commitment to closely monitoring the situation and pledged to keep the public informed of any developments.