Monrovia — Margibi County Senator Nathaniel F. McGill has described the prison prices filed towards leaders of the stress group Solidarity and Belief for a New Day (STAND) as an act of intimidation aimed toward silencing essential voices against the federal government.
By Obediah Johnson
STAND Chairman Mulbah Ok. Morlu and his deputy, Rev. Festus R. B. Logan, had been charged by the Liberia Nationwide Police (LNP) following the conclusion of investigations into violent incidents linked to the December 17, 2025, protest in Monrovia.
The defendants face a number of prices, together with prison solicitation, prison conspiracy, rioting, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct, and obstructing highways and public passages. The police allege the protest resulted in incidents of straightforward assault, prison mischief, theft, and theft of property, in violation of provisions of Liberia’s Revised Penal Regulation.
Chatting with legislative reporters on the Capitol Constructing on Tuesday, January 13, Senator McGill argued that charging Morlu and Logan for exercising their constitutional rights “doesn’t augur nicely for Liberia’s democracy.”
In response to him, the transfer is meant to suppress dissent and intimidate residents who overtly criticize the federal government.
McGill maintained that the protest was peaceable and carried out in keeping with Liberian regulation, insisting that the defendants dedicated no crime. He stated their rights to freedom of speech and peaceable meeting had been violated by the federal government’s determination to prosecute them.
“Liberians don’t help violence, however essential voices shouldn’t be arrested for exercising their constitutional rights,” McGill stated. “It is a unhappy day for the nation. Individuals fought for the suitable to protest and to talk freely. It’s unlucky {that a} protest supervised by the Liberia Nationwide Police has ended with protesters being arrested and charged for crimes they didn’t commit.”
He additional questioned why police haven’t pursued people allegedly answerable for damaging non-public property through the protest, however as a substitute focused the management of STAND.
“If somebody dedicated against the law, the police ought to arrest that particular person,” McGill stated. “Why go after harmless individuals? Just one automobile was broken, and nobody noticed who threw the stone. Criminals might have gone elsewhere and dedicated these acts.”
The senator warned cops towards what he described as “concocted prices” towards critics of the federal government, stressing that regulation enforcement officers are paid by taxpayers to guard rights, not suppress them.
Requires Accountability
McGill additionally referred to as on Justice Minister Oswald Tweh and Police Inspector Common Gregory O. W. Coleman to take accountability for damages to non-public property through the protest.
He cautioned that historical past would choose safety officers who, he claimed, misuse their authority to clamp down on dissent, referencing the destiny of former safety chiefs in earlier administrations.
“Gregory Coleman should do not forget that others earlier than him as soon as wielded energy,” McGill stated. “There’ll all the time be a tomorrow, and there can be accountability.”
Regardless of his robust criticism, McGill stated he has confidence within the judicial course of and believes Morlu and Logan can be exonerated when the matter goes to court docket.
In the meantime, the senator disclosed that he intends to lift the difficulty on the ground of the Liberian Senate later this week.
