Liberian Journalists Rally After Female Reporter, Bettie Mbayo Beaten Up

Dozens of Liberian journalists gathered outside a courthouse near the capital Monrovia on January 21, 2021 to support a female colleague who was allegedly assaulted on a politician's orders. Investigative journalist Bettie Mbayo told AFP that Marvin Cole, an elected representative in the West African nation, had ordered his "thugs" to assault her and her husband after they parked their car near his house on January 15. Cole arrived home and shouted at her husband, who was driving the car, to move, she said. "He got down from his car and ordered his thugs to beat us,” added Mbayo, who works for leading daily Front Page Africa. The couple both sustained injuries during the attack and are still receiving treatment.