As It Occurs7:23Canadian imprisoned in Sierra Leone for criticizing the president and first girl
Calgarian Alicia Hunt says her mom is losing away in a violent and overcrowded jail, all as a result of she criticized Sierra Leone’s president and first girl on social media.
Hawa Hunt, a twin citizen of Canada and Sierra Leone, was arrested on dwell TV in December whereas taking pictures a actuality collection in Freetown, the West African nation’s capital metropolis, and has been imprisoned there ever since.
Throughout a quick video name from jail final week, Alicia says her 42-year-old mom appeared gaunt, her eyes sunken and her pores and skin lined with mosquito and bedbug bites, a stark distinction to the robust and glamorous girl who has made a reputation for herself on-line as a social media fitness influencer.
She informed her daughter she’s not getting sufficient to eat behind bars, and that the guards there usually beat her and the opposite prisoners.
“She form of, like, tried to giggle it off, saying, ‘Nevertheless it’s regular right here in Africa,’ which is, , very regarding to me,” Alicia, 20, informed As It Occurs visitor host Helen Mann.
“This was what she might speak in confidence to me over a video name that was being watched over by the jail guards that have been there. So … who is aware of what else they’re doing to her behind closed doorways?”
CBC was unable to achieve the federal government of Sierra Leone for remark.
Amnesty Worldwide requires her launch
Hawa was arrested on Dec. 22, 2024, whereas showing as a contestant on the TV present Home of Stars, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
She faces two prices of “transmitting insulting messages through a pc system” underneath Sierra Leone’s 2021 Cybersecurity and Crime Act, a legislation Amnesty Worldwide says is getting used to suppress freedom of speech.
Hawa is a widely known social media and TV persona in Sierra Leone, and has greater than 100,000 followers throughout Fb, TikTok and Instagram, the place she usually posts about health and wellness.
Nevertheless it was a just lately resurfaced political publish from 2023 that led to her arrest, by which she accuses President Julius Maada Bio of attempting to purchase folks’s votes, and insults his spouse, Fatima Bio.
She has been repeatedly denied bail, Amnesty says.
“We’re actually involved concerning the arbitrary arrest and detention of Hawa Hunt as a result of we consider that, by now, she ought to have been launched,” Solomon Sogbandi, director of Amnesty Worldwide Sierra Leone, informed CBC’s The Nationwide.
The Calgary household of a Canadian girl is anxious for her well-being after she was arrested on dwell tv in Sierra Leone whereas filming a actuality TV present referred to as Home of Stars. Hawa Hunt, a twin citizen, was jailed for previous social media posts criticizing the nation’s president and first girl.
Alicia admits her mom technically broke the legislation together with her video, however says she would not deserve the remedy she’s needed to endure.
She’s calling on the Canadian authorities to assist, however says they’ve completed little or no thus far.
“I do know my mother does must observe the legal guidelines of Sierra Leone as she’s there,” she stated. “Nonetheless, I am asking for them to intervene on a Canadian citizen being abused and being held in inhumane situations.”
In an emailed assertion, World Affairs spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod stated Canada is “conscious of the arrest of a Canadian citizen in Sierra Leone.”
“Consular officers are involved with native authorities and are offering consular service. As a result of privateness concerns, no additional data may be disclosed,” the assertion reads.
YouTube apology was compelled, says daughter
Lower than per week after her arrest, Hawa appeared in a YouTube video apologizing for criticizing the president and first girl.
The video is titled “Unique Interview with Hawa Hunt” and seems on a channel referred to as I.B Weblog On-line TV, which payments itself as “a digital media platform masking dwell occasions, politics, leisure, sports activities, documentaries, and extra.”
In it, a person with a microphone sits near Hawa on a sofa and leans over her as he asks her questions on her social media publish. She smiles as she says she’s “apologetic” and “remorseful,” and insists that she’s been handled professionally by the police and has not confronted any harassment or abuse.
“I do consider that my mom was compelled to make that video,” Alicia stated. “None of it appeared pure.”
When the apology video appeared on-line, Alicia says no person within the household had but been in contact with Hawa.
“We have been nonetheless attempting to determine easy methods to attain out to her. So for her to, , be detained after which simply pop up in an interview the entire sudden as if she’s a free girl was extraordinarily regarding,” she stated.
Alicia says she has employed a lawyer for her mom, and is reaching out to politicians and the Canadian embassy in Sierra Leone. She says she additionally wrote a private “heartfelt” letter to the president and his spouse, asking for lenience.
She’s hoping that, on the very least, Hawa will likely be granted bail and can have the ability to see a health care provider. However what she actually needs, she says, is for her mom to obtain a full pardon and are available again residence.
“I do know my mother is happy with me and happy with the work I’ve completed for her, and I’ll hold pushing till I get that reunion,” she stated. “I simply cannot wait till she’s again right here at residence with me in Calgary so I can, , give her the remedy that she deserves.”
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