Sierra Leone detains Liberian political activist

ANKARA (AA) - Authorities in Sierra Leone have detained a Liberian opposition activist with the intention to hand him over to Liberia on Wednesday at the latter's request, local media reports said.

Henry Costa, the chief of Liberia’s Council of Patriots (COP), a local pressure group, was barred from boarding a plane from Freetown to the U.S. via Paris, the APA news agency reported.

There are fears that the Sierra Leone authorities would hand over Costa to Monrovia.

Costa has reportedly led protests against Liberia's President George Weah in June last year and January. The latest one has been held against corruption and ‘misrule’ under Weah's administration, the FrontPageAfrica reported.

The Liberian activist has been under investigation for the authenticity of his traveling documents which he used to enter the country last December.

The Liberian police claimed that Costa “wasn’t cooperating with the investigation when he decided to leave the country via Freetown".

In a news conference Sunday, Costa accused his country’s government of swapping his entry permit he used to enter Liberia on Dec. 19, 2019 with a forged one in a bid to have him inculpated.

Costa’s lawyers have been trying to block handing him over to Liberian authorities over being unconvinced that he could face a fair trial in his country, according to the FrontPageAfrica.