Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The President of the Journalists Association of Samoa (JAWS) Lagi Keresoma is facing one count of defamation relating to an article she wrote on May 1, where she reported a former police officer was seeking assistance from the Head of State to help withdraw charges against him.

The Samoa Observer is reporting that Police Commissioner Auapa’au Logoitino Filipo confirmed that Keresoma will appear in court in two weeks.

As reported earlier this month, Samoa has dropped in its media and information freedom world ranking from 22 in 2024 to 44 in 2025 in the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled annually by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The article that Keresoma wrote stated that the former police officer who sought assistance from the Head of State is facing criminal charges of fraud against another police officer.

Auapa’au said the former police officer filed a complaint against Keresoma last week, stating that the article was not true and defamed him.

The complainant is taking legal action and has denied any involvement with the Head of State as stated in the article by Talamua Media on May 1, 2025.

The police officer is facing two charges of fraud. It is alleged that the police officer signed as another on a loan application to be the guarantor. This matter is before court.

The 2025 World Press Freedom Index released in conjunction with the annual Media Freedom Day on May 3, says despite the vitality of some of its media groups, Samoa’s reputation as a regional model of press freedom has suffered in recent years due to “authoritarian pressure” from the previous prime minister and a political party that held power for four decades until 2021.

The report lists independent media outlets such as the Samoa Observer, as “an independent daily founded in 1978, that has symbolized the fight for press freedom.”

It also lists state-owned Savali newspaper “that focuses on providing positive coverage of the government’s activities.”