Democracy Hub Accuses Police Of Unlawfully Arresting And Detaining Protesters
- Democracy Hub has accused the Ghana Police Service of unlawfully arresting and detaining 46 #OccupyJulorbiHouse protesters
- Democracy Hub disclosed that the police have prevented lawyers from reaching arrested protesters and have refused to disclose their whereabouts
- Some X users have described the police's actions as kidnapping and have demanded the immediate release of protesters
The Ghana Police Service has been accused of unlawfully arresting over 46 protesters following a three-day #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstration in Accra.
According to the police, the protesters had allegedly been engaging in lawless conduct, including dismantling police barricades and obstructing traffic flow.
Source: UGC
The protesters were demonstrating against the government’s handling of the economic crisis and the illegal mining menace, which poses a great danger to Ghana’s water supply.
Reacting to the arrests, a lawyer and member of the Democracy Hub legal team, Prince Ganaku, said the police’s actions are unlawful and reprehensible.
He stated that the police had refused to provide a list of those it picked up from the protest grounds and had also refused to disclose police stations where protesters were being kept.
This has left lawyers hopping from one police station to another in search of protesters.
Ganaku told Citi FM that at several police stations, police officers have refused to provide any information on arrested protesters or their whereabouts, frustrating efforts to provide these protesters with legal representation.
Meanwhile, he said the police intend to arraign the protesters in its custody today, September 24, 2024.
According to Prince Ganaku, police officers told his team of lawyers that they had received orders from above not to allow the protesters to receive legal representation and not to disclose their whereabouts.
Ganaku described the situation as a deliberate attempt to punish peaceful protesters.
Others on social media have described the police’s action as tantamount to kidnapping and have demanded that the arrested protesters be released.
Security expert says police, protesters at fault
Security analyst Adib Saani told YEN.com.gh that neither side had acted appropriately.
He pointed out that Oliver Barker-Vormawor's snatching of keys from a parked police van and throwing it away should not have happened, and neither should the police's manhandling of the protesters during the protests and later at the court.
"I think both sides erred at a point. I saw a video of Oliver Barker snatching the keys of a police vehicle and throwing it away.
"I think it is wrong; it shouldn't have happened that way. On the other hand, the police also, at a point, acted too excessively, even in the courts. People were dragged as if they were common criminals," he said.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor arrested
Meanwhile, a convener of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protest has been arrested by the police.
His arrest follows the police declaring him a wanted man following the three-day protest in Accra.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor had described the police’s description of him as a wanted man as baseless and unfounded. He said the release created the impression that he had fled from them and offered to present himself to a police station of the police’s choosing.
Other protesters arrested during #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstration
YEN.com.gh reported that the Ghana Police Service arrested lawyer and YouTuber Ama Governor, media personality Felicity Nelson, and several other protesters.
The arrest occurred on Sunday, September 22, 2024, the second day of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse and Stop Galamsey Now protest.
Many Ghanaians fumed at the police for manhandling the protesters during their arrest, while others slammed the Akufo-Addo government.
Proofread by Edwina N.K Quarcoo, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
