The AHA has sent a letter to Julius Maada Bio, president of the Republic of Sierra Leone, expressing “concern for the personal safety and academic freedom of Dr. Chernoh Alpha M. Bah,” a historian and journalist who has faced threats and harassment for his reporting on alleged corruption among Sierra Leonean government officials. “The harassment Bah has been subjected to—which includes death threats—has prevented him from returning to Sierra Leone to continue his academic research,” the AHA wrote. “These threats from government officials represent a clear violation of his freedom to pursue historical scholarship.”
August 26, 2024
Julius Maada Bio
President of the Republic of Sierra Leone
Freetown, Sierra Leone
via email
Dear President Bio:
The American Historical Association expresses concern for the personal safety and academic freedom of Dr. Chernoh Alpha M. Bah, a historian and journalist. For years, members of Sierra Leone’s People’s Party and government have harassed and threatened Bah, who serves as publisher of the online newspaper Africanist Press. The newspaper has published reports on alleged corruption among government officials, and Bah has written and provided interviews on his investigative journalism in other media outlets.
The harassment Bah has been subjected to—which include death threats—has prevented him from returning to Sierra Leone to continue his academic research. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University, and must return to Sierra Leone to conduct archival and oral history research. These threats from government officials represent a clear violation of his freedom to pursue historical scholarship.
The American Historical Association is the largest organization of professional historians in the world, with nearly 11,000 members spanning the globe. On behalf of this international network of scholars, we respectfully urge Sierra Leone’s government to cease threatening Bah and protect him from harassment and violence as it would any other citizen.
We appreciate your attention to this important matter and look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
James R. Grossman
Executive Director