1 January 2026
Police Commissioner
Samoa Police Service
Dear sir
Recently your office published photos and information relating to the identities and arrest of several suspects arising out of your recent raids on their abodes and locations.
At the time of publication, they had not appeared before a court, and the allegations had not been tested judicially.
This action by the Samoa Police is now the basis of serious concerns to many Samoans through-out the globe as well as the international community namely that:
- it undermines the presumption of innocence.
- it creates a real risk of prejudice to the pending criminal proceedings.
- it denies legal representatives the right to seek orders of non-publication from the court and as you may be aware, the basis for such orders could be the prevention of medical attacks on families of the accused and many more, and
- it exceeds what is reasonably necessary for legitimate policing purposes.
In a small jurisdiction such as Samoa, the impact of police-issued publicity is amplified and difficult to reverse not to mention the critical points I have tabulated above.
I would now suggest to you in the strongest possible terms that in the public interest and pursuant to your duties and obligations as an officer of the legal process that:
- you remove all photographs and identifying information from official platforms;
- that you do not provide any more public publications prior to court determination;
- that the Samoa Police Service review its internal practices relating to pre-trial publicity.
We do however, together with those arrested, reserve the right to pursue a civil cause of action should we consider it appropriate to bring accountability to your office.
Yours faithfully
Sala Pulotu
CTV Media
