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Dutch journalist, Sophie van Leeuwen has criticised freedom of the press in Sierra Leone after experiencing a bitter time in the West African nation.
The RTL Nieuws journalist was recently detained and had her equipment seized by the Sierra Leone police while in the country as an investigative journalist.
“There’s no press freedom in Sierra Leone,” she wrote on X on Sunday afternoon, days after she left the West African country.
“I left Freetown at night, on a ferry across the lagoon,” van Leeuwen said.
She complained that the actions of the police in Freetown have “destroyed” her work and also put the life of her fixer and local journalist, Joseph Turay in danger.
“My colleague, Joseph Turay fears for his life,” she said.
van Leeuwen left the Netherlands after prosecutors in her country discovered that notorious European drug lord, Jos Leijdekkers had been residing in Sierra Leone for the past 6 months.
Leijdekkers was sentenced in absentia to 25 years imprisonment by a Rotterdam court for trafficking cocaine and kidnapping in the European country.
Authorities in Sierra Leone have stated that they were unaware of Leijdekker’s presence in the country. This assertion comes despite the emergence of several video clips that show him in close proximity to President Julius Maada Bio and members of the First Family.
Reports also pointed out that the drug kingpin was married to the daughter of the president, Agnes Bio.
The Sierra Leone Police said that they currently searching for Leijdekkers, who they suspect entered the country from Turkey with an alias name ‘Omar Sheriff’.
Several businessmen and top government officials have been accused of having closing relationships with the Dutchman raising doubts as to the denial of authorities in the country.
They have laws in their country and we have ours, you need to follow the procedure’s before doing anything.
It is her opinion but this is Sierra Leone where we have our own Laws that she have to follow.We live in Europe and we know how things works for foreigners.
Thank God u have realized it yourself
Sierra Leone is now he’ll on earth
It is amazing to me that there are people on here defending the Bio cocaine regime and the harboring of a drug fugitive by the president himself. How can we get ahead as a nation if there are people who think this is okay? What laws exactly are the posters referring to when they say we have laws in this country? That a journalist can not reveal where in the country an international drug fugitive is hiding? I am sure that is not on the books. Maada Bio has been exposed and this will not end well for him. For those that are defending the police’s action, please go find another country. Na una kine mek we seh so, one of the reason why our country is being turned into a drug transit center and the president is the number one drug dealer in the country. Una alaki.