Five rights workers detained

Liberian police detained five staff members of the National Human Rights Centre on Thursday but gave no reason for their arrest, the organisation reported.

Aloysius Toe, project officer; Tunny Zeogar, administrative secretary; Peter Nickoson, office assistant; John Okai, dispatcher; and Field Monitor Sam Nimely were arrested at the organisation's offices in the capital, Monrovia.

The police, led by CID director Col Lemuel Reeves, had reportedly earlier gone in search of Toe, the organisation's project officer. Toe, who is currently acting executive director of the Movement for the Defence of Human Rights, a member of the National Human Rights Centre, condemned on Wednesday the arrest without charge of Nigba Wiaplah.

Wiaplah, the acting national chairman of the opposition New Deal Movement party, was reportedly arrested because of a recent statement he made to a Monrovia newspaper, The News. In it he said that "arrogance" was the reason for the present war between rebels and the Liberian government, Amnesty International reported.

Anti-government forces, known as Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, have been fighting to overthrow the government of President Charles Taylor since 1998. The government declared a state of emergency on 8 February following reports of shooting about 50 km north of Monrovia.

The National Human Rights Commission described the arrest of its five staff members as "arbitrary" and called on the police to ensure that their legal rights were respected. Amnesty International said it feared that the prisoners might be subject to degrading treatment in detention.

Since the state of emergency was imposed, journalists, rights activists and opposition leaders have been under increased pressure from the authorities resulting in arrests and detention without charge, Amnesty reported.