U.S. records extrajudicial killings, security brutality
The United States Government has recorded several human rights abuses in Liberia, including extrajudicial killings, security forces’ brutality, and infringement on free speech, among others.
Monrovia, Liberia; August 14, 2025 – The American Department of State 2024 Human Rights Reports on Liberia has documented various arbitrary or unlawful killings in the country but notes that the Government of Liberia took steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, including abuse from the civil war.
The report published here by the Embassy of the United States near Monrovia on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, detailed that in May 2024, the Bureau of Rehabilitation and Corrections formally charged six officers linked to the death in April of an inmate at the Fish Town Central Prison in Rivergee County.
“The inmate’s death led to community unrest as angry residents vandalized the prison, leading to the escape of some inmates. According to the prison bureau, several corrections officers aided the jailbreak and were under investigation by the Liberia National Police (LNP). Four of the six officers involved were cleared of any wrongdoing, one was dismissed for failure to cooperate with the investigation, and one remained under investigation”, the Report reads.
On security forces’ heavy-handedness, the Report acknowledges that the Constitution and law of Liberia prohibited such practices, but there were credible reports of government officials employing them.
It explains that the law provided criminal penalties for excessive use of force by law enforcement officers and addressed permissible uses of force during arrest or to prevent the escape of a prisoner from custody.
However, it points out that abusive acts by security forces, including the Liberia National Police, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), were a significant problem, although it notes that the AFL generally acted more professionally and had fewer instances of abusive conduct than the other security agencies.
“In May, the LNP dismissed Patrolman Jerome Tokpah from the force for alleged police brutality. Tokpah was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault after he allegedly assaulted Courage Tarr with a machete. At year’s end, the case remained pending.”
On free speech, the Reports say while individuals were generally free to criticize the government publicly or privately, state officials sometimes used dismissal or threat of dismissal from employment to place limits on freedom of expression for public servants, recording that in August, the Monrovia City Corporation dismissed nine city employees following allegations they used social media to criticize government officials and President Joseph Boakai.
The State Department notes that press associations reported government officials occasionally harassed newspaper and radio station owners, as well as individual journalists, because of their political opinions and reporting, citing “On June 26, the Association of Liberia Community Radios demanded the reinstatement of Radio Kakata Station Manager Jerry Quoi, who was suspended by Margibi County Superintendent Victoria Duncan for alleged financial malfeasance.”
It says that although generally able to express a wide variety of views, some journalists practiced self-censorship to avoid harassment, while some media outlets avoided criticizing government officials due to fear of legal sanctions and potential loss of government advertising, a significant source of media revenue.
“A June 20 meeting between Presidential Press Secretary Kula Fofana and media executives turned contentious, leading several editors to walk out. The incident arose concerning new accreditation requirements for journalists covering the executive mansion, including police clearances and institutional tax clearance certificates. These policies, along with demands by the government for free website advertising, which impacted newspaper revenues, sparked concerns regarding media freedom and independence.”
On prolonged detention without charges, the U.S. State Department observes that arrests often were made without judicial authorization, and warrants were sometimes issued without sufficient evidence.
It argues that Liberian law required authorities to arraign or release detainees within 48 hours, and detainees generally were informed of the charges against them upon arrest, but were not always brought before a judge for arraignment within 48 hours.
The Report continues that the law also provided that, once arraigned, a criminal defendant had to be indicted no later than the next succeeding term of court after arrest, but if the indicted defendant was not tried within the next succeeding court term and no cause was given, the law prescribed the case against the defendant be dismissed; nevertheless, cases were rarely dismissed on either ground, making this one of the most frequent abuses of the law.
“Approximately 60 percent of pretrial detainees, especially those held for felony offenses, were detained for more than two terms of court, or approximately 180 days, without a hearing.”
Quoting the National Commission on Human Rights of Liberia (INCHRL), the Report explains that a detainee’s access to a hearing before a judge sometimes depended on whether there was a functioning court or available transportation in the area, adding that the INCHRL further stated some courts occasionally lacked both a prosecutor and a public defender, and the magistrate judge proceeded without them, while some magistrates solicited money from complainants to transport the accused or convicted to and from detention.
It notes that detainees had the right to prompt access to counsel, and, if indigent, an attorney was provided by the state in criminal cases.
The national public defender’s office was short-staffed and faced logistical constraints that hindered access to rural courts. Two domestic NGOs also provided legal assistance to some indigent defendants.
The State Department adds that the bail system was inefficient and susceptible to corruption, while the INCHRL and other civil rights observers reported judges misused the bail system, viewing it as punitive rather than a way to regulate appearance in court. Some judges reportedly used the possibility of bail to solicit bribes.
The Report points that although official policy allowed detained suspects to communicate with others, including a lawyer or family member, inadequate telephone services resulted in many inmates being unable to communicate with anyone outside of the detention facility.
“In November, a Monrovia criminal court judge chastised Ministry of Justice prosecutors for the handling of a case involving an alleged Guinean mercenary who was apprehended in Liberia for allegedly planning a coup plot against the Guinean president and military leader inside Liberian territory.”
The document details that the suspect, Ibrahim Kalil Cherif, was taken into custody by National Security Agency officials and, according to his defense lawyers and the INCHRL, was held without charges for several days before transfer to Monrovia Central Prison.
“According to the INCHRL, Cherif was later removed from prison by authorities without a court order; the government’s information minister subsequently acknowledged Cherif had been turned over to Guinean authorities at their request and on the grounds that Cherif presented a national security threat to both Liberia and Guinea. The judge criticized the government’s handling of the case and threatened contempt charges against the Justice Ministry. The case was closed as prosecutors dropped the charges, and the defendant was no longer in the country.”
It underscored that lengthy pretrial detention was a problem, and use of detention as a punitive measure, failure to issue indictments in a timely manner, lack of a functioning bail system, poor court record keeping, failure of judges to assign court dates, ineffective assistance of defense counsel, and a lack of resources for prosecutors and public defenders all contributed to prolonged pretrial detention. Report
