"Civil society organizations demand to stop land grabbing by the Agro-industrial Company Socfin and to protect the human rights of the communities", 16 June 2016

[On 16 June 2016], a group of Sierra Leonean Civil Society Organizations, held a press conference in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, to celebrate the release of six MALOA activists (Malen Land Owners and Users Association). These individuals have defended the rights of the Malen communities following land grabbing by the Socfin Agricultural Company Ltd., a subsidiary of the Belgo-Luxembourg group Socfin. A petition in support of the MALOA struggle was also handed over to the President of Sierra Leone and called for the end to the criminalization of human rights defenders in Malen...West African members of the Global Convergence of Land and Water Struggles and international civil society organizations [have] sent a letter to the President [of Sierra Leone] urging to cease violations of the communities' right[s]...See the letter to the President of Sierra Leone and the background of the case (June 2016). You can also see a previous letter by the Global Convergence for Land and Water Struggles – West Africa in support of Maloa...