Monrovia, Liberia \u2013 July 31, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chairman of the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT), Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin, has formally requested a criminal investigation into what he describes as public threats to his life and the safety of his family, allegedly made by media publisher and political commentator, Mr. Philipbert Semogal Browne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a strongly worded letter addressed to Inspector General of Police, Col. Gregory O.W. Coleman, Cllr. Martin expressed grave concern over a recent opinion piece published on Mr. Browne\u2019s social media platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the AREPT Chair, the commentary contains statements that constitute terroristic threats and indications of an assassination plot involving powerful individuals who Mr. Browne described as \u201cthe most powerful, influential, wealthy and elite Liberians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMr. Browne\u2019s statements clearly show that he has full knowledge of a planned assassination attempt on my life and that of my family,\u201d Cllr. Martin stated in the communication. \u201cThis plan, as presented by Mr. Browne, is not because I did anything personally to these individuals, but simply because of my commitment to national duty in the fight against corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cllr. Martin argues that Mr. Browne\u2019s familiarity with the alleged plot\u2014including its actors, motives, and potential historical precedents\u2014suggests he may be directly connected to the individuals involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He believes Mr. Browne must therefore be formally invited by the Liberia National Police for questioning and compelled to provide names, meeting locations, and other relevant details tied to the purported conspiracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing Article 15 of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, which grants the right to free expression \u201cwith full responsibility for the abuse thereof,\u201d the Taskforce Chairman emphasized that Mr. Browne should be held accountable for what he views as the abuse of that constitutional freedom to instill fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The letter also references Section 14.24 of Liberia\u2019s Penal Code, which defines \u201cTerroristic Threats\u201d as a third-degree felony when a person threatens violence with the intent to cause terror, public inconvenience, or serious emotional harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Specific excerpts from Mr. Browne\u2019s post were cited in the complaint, including passages warning that Cllr. Martin\u2019s family should be relocated abroad for safety, and that his current role as AREPT Chair had made him a high-risk target. Other statements referenced past regime killings, implying that individuals under current investigation by AREPT may be the same ones responsible for politically linked murders in previous administrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf Mr. Browne has such privileged knowledge, he should help the police identify those behind past killings and current threats. If not, he must be held personally liable for his reckless and dangerous claims,\u201d Cllr. Martin noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Taskforce Chair further clarified that his role and actions are solely in line with Executive Order No. 145, issued by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, which empowers AREPT to identify, investigate, and recover stolen public assets domestically and abroad. He reaffirmed that the anti-corruption campaign will not be derailed by threats or fear tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhether threats are made or not, AREPT remains resolute. If anyone is involved in corrupt acts, they will be pursued within the confines of the law,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cllr. Martin copied the letter to top government security and legal officials, including the Ministers of Justice, State for Special Services, and Information; the National Security Advisor; and the Director of the National Security Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The letter concludes with a call for immediate action by the police to summon Mr. Browne for investigation and to help end what the Chairman referred to as the \u201cculture of impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monrovia, Liberia \u2013 July 31, 2025 The Chairman of the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT), Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin, has formally requested a criminal investigation into what he describes as public threats to his life and the safety of his family, allegedly made by media publisher and political commentator, Mr. Philipbert Semogal Browne.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,136,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-media-engagement","category-news-updates","category-newsroom"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6163"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6166,"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6163\/revisions\/6166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arept.gov.lr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}