Published: August 14, 2026
MONROVIA — The Supreme Court ordered Justin Oldpa Yeazehn released from the Monrovia Central Prison on Friday, a day after his six-month contempt sentence expired and amid reports that he had not satisfied conditions the Court attached to its February judgment.
The one-page order, captioned “In Re: Contempt Proceedings Against Mr. Justin Oldpa Yeazehn,” was signed by the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Cllr. Sam Mamulu, bears the Court’s seal and is addressed to the superintendent of the Monrovia Central Prison at South Beach on Center Street.
“By directive of the Full Bench of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia, you are hereby ordered to release from further detention the living body of Justin Oldpa Yeazehn, who has fully served his six (6) months sentence imposed by the Supreme Court of Liberia for contempt of court,” the order said.
The Court said the directive itself constitutes the prison’s “legal and sufficient authority” for the release, language that leaves the superintendent no need to await a further order from any other court before discharging him.
Yeazehn, the social media commentator known publicly as Prophet Key, was found guilty of criminal contempt by the Full Bench on Feb. 13 over broadcasts in which he accused the Supreme Court of corruption and directed insults at Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay and the chief justice’s mother. He pleaded guilty a day earlier and asked the Court for leniency. The custodial term ran from Feb. 13 to Aug. 13.
The February judgment did not end at the prison term. The Court also ordered Yeazehn to publish an apology in three daily newspapers for five consecutive days and to execute a behavior bond committing him not to repeat the conduct. Those obligations, and reports that he had not met them, were the basis of the doubt over whether he would walk out when the six months elapsed.
Friday’s order says nothing about the apology or the bond. It recites only that the custodial sentence has been fully served and directs the prison to end his detention. Whether the Court has determined that he complied, or has treated the conditions as separate from the term of imprisonment, is not stated in the document.
The order attributes the decision to the Full Bench sitting in the March Term 2026 and lists Chief Justice Gbeisay along with Associate Justices Jamesetta H. Wolokolie, Yussif D. Kaba, Ceaineh D. Clinton-Johnson and Boakai N. Kanneh.
A handwritten notation near the foot of the document indicates the prison received the order at about 10:18 a.m. Friday.
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