Abuja, May 21, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Liberian authorities to swiftly investigate the May 5 raid on Smile FM by a dozen armed men who beat a member of staff and occupied the premises until police sealed it off and stopped broadcasts.
“Liberian authorities must hold to account those who attacked Smile FM, beat media technician Cyrus Gbeway, and prevented the station from broadcasting for two weeks,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa regional director, from Durban. “The safety of journalists and the Liberian people’s access to information should be a top priority for authorities.”
The shutdown, which ended on May 19, came amid a dispute at Smile FM between two rival boards over leadership of the community radio station in Zwedru, the capital of eastern Grand Gedeh County.
Gbeway told CPJ that two of the men who forced their way into the station’s compound at dawn, smashed his phone, and evicted him were known associates of county superintendent Alex Chersia Grant. The president appoints 15 superintendents nationally, whose roles are administrative.
Grant told CPJ he was one of the station’s founders and rejected news reports that he ordered the raid. Grant said that he did know the two men identified by Gbewey but he did not know why they participated in the raid and declined to explain his relationship with them.
Solo Uriah Lewis, who was recently ousted as station manager, told CPJ that he called the police when he arrived at the radio station and saw it had been occupied.
Since the end of Liberia’s civil war in 2003, the media has grown significantly but is often reliant on financial support from government or politicians. CPJ has documented journalists being beaten, threatened, and harassed by politicians and security forces.
The Press Union of Liberia described the incident as “disturbing” and called on the police to ensure Smile FM could operate without interruption.
CPJ’s calls and text messages to request comment from national police spokesperson Cecelia Clarke did not receive any replies.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.