Liberia to defend Henry P. Costa!, as he receives massive support from the office of the Solicitor General of the Republic of Liberia
Please read the full statement below
The Solicitor-General has strongly excepted to and has cautioned against the publication and dissemination of a nude silhouette purporting to be that of a ‘strayed’ political activist on the Strategic Central and CDC Hawks WhatsApp pages reflecting the progressive achievements of the CDC vis-à-vis the government of Liberia.
The Solicitor-General says the Public Order Act provision of the Penal Code of Liberia, Title 26, Liberian Codes of Law Revised, Chapter 18, section 18.7 titled: “Disseminating obscene material” forbids the dissemination and publication of materials inimical to public order and security.
It states: “A person has committed a first-degree misdemeanor if he disseminates obscene material or such person produces, transports, or sends obscene material, with the purpose that it be disseminated unless the dissemination is carried on in such a manner as to minimize risk of exposure to children under sixteen years of age and to persons who had no effective opportunity to choose not to be so exposed. “Disseminate” means sell, lease, advertise, broadcast, exhibit, or distribute. Material is “obscene” if, taken as a whole, it:
(a) Has as its exclusive theme an appeal to a prurient interest in sex of the average person, or in the case of material designed for or disseminated to special groups, to the prurient interest in sex of the members of that group; and
(b) Is utterly without social value to the persons to whom the dissemination is addressed.
The Solicitor-General has indicated that a violation of this statutory provision, without any due regard to public order, safety and security of children, or the state, will not be taken kindly or condoned, and has assured the public that as head of prosecution, such grotesque and reprehensible conduct will not go unnoticed, and will not unpublished.
The office of the Solicitor-General says through Article 15(b) of the 1986 Constitution gives every Liberian citizen the right to hold a separate and a distinct opinion on every issue as he/she may deem fit, notwithstanding, the exercise of such constitutional right does require injuring the rights of others or violating public order and the safety and security of children.
The Government of Liberia consistent with its democratic credentials, the Solicitor-General observed, has, and continues to remain responsible in respecting the rights of citizens to engage in the frank and brutal exchanges of ideas void of violence and void of disseminating obscene material and shall not countenance a sudden departure from this sacred democratic tradition.
The Office of the Solicitor-General has warned that it shall invite and question, where necessary, charge and prosecute in open court anyone caught in the “disseminating obscene material” irrespective of who is involved.
A release issued today, says while it considers as egregiously despicable the dissemination of a nude silhouette on WhatsApp pages promoting the progressive agenda of the CDC, it is totally unconvinced that those behind such dissemination clearly understand the wrong messages associated with such publication.
Meanwhile, the Solicitor-General has called on the users of Strategic Central and CDC Hawks WhatsApp pages to report about national developments and reconciliation, moving forward, and has warned that no mountain will be too high to climb; no valley too low to walk; or no river shall be too deep to swim to arrest and prosecute anyone “disseminating obscene material” as in keeping with the Penal Code of Liberia.
Concluding, the release said the prison term for a first-degree misdemeanor is one whole year in solitary confinement or a suspended sentence with the proviso to do community service where the court may deem fit.
Thanks.
