Police Denies Detaining 12-Year-Old Child And Pregnant Woman: "She's Not Pregnant"
- The woman who had taken a 12-year-old girl to the Democracy Hub street protest has been charged with exposing a child to danger
- The woman, identified as Grace Asantewaa, 50, was arrested alongside her grandmother and taken to the police station
- According to the police, the woman and her grandchild were released that very evening after being granted bail
The Ghana Police Service has charged the woman who had taken a 12-year-old girl to the Democracy Hub street protest with the offence of exposing a child to danger.
The 50-year-old woman, Grace Asantewaa, according to a police statement, had brought the 12-year-old girl to the protest and, at the time of arrest, had been arrested along with the girl.
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The police noted that the two had not been separated following the arrest and that they had been granted a police enquiry bail at the police station to allow them to go home.
The police stated that bringing the child to the protest grounds was in contravention of Section 71 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
It advised the general public to avoid involving children in activities that could potentially expose them to harm.
Police arrest pregnant woman
The police also stated that claims that it had arrested a pregnant woman during the protest were false.
In the statement signed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and Director of Police Public Affairs, Grace Ansah-Akrofi, she debunked the claim that one of the accused persons was pregnant and was being denied medical care.
She explained that the alleged pregnant woman, Gloria Vera Louise, at the time of her arrest, showed no visible indication of pregnancy.
The police added that Gloria, at no point during or after the arrest, had informed the police of her alleged pregnancy.
It added that neither the accused nor her lawyers had also informed the court of her alleged pregnancy as well.
To establish the accuracy of the claim, the police claimed it conducted a pregnancy test on Gloria Louise at the Police Hospital and an independent health facility, which both turned out negative.
“Gloria Vera Louise is not pregnant as claimed," the police stated.
It has urged Ghanaians to disregard the false information circulating on social media.
Protesters' lawyers react to police statement
However, one of the lawyers handling the protesters' case has dismissed the police's statement.
Lawyer Godslove Bogobley told YEN.com.gh that the police's version of events is untenable and should also be disregarded as false.
"The family of the pregnant woman continues to insist that she was pregnant at the time of the arrest. So, we find the police's version of events hard to accept, especially since her lawyers aren't privy to the supposed test results," he said.
"With respect to the old lady (Asantewaa) and the young girl, we reject the police's version of events. The child was not 'allowed to accompany' Asantewaa. She was bundled together with Asantewaa when they were making their arrest.
"Also, Asantewaa was not released because of the child. She was released because of underlying health conditions. I would like to add that she returned to the police station later, where her statement was taken without legal representation present," he added.
CSOs denounce arrest of protesters
YEN.com.gh has reported that the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has strongly denounced the brutal tactics used by the Ghana Police Service against anti-galamsey protesters.
CDD-Ghana said the various tactics employed by the police service were an infringement on the rights of the protesters and eroded public trust in the institution.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International Ghana has called for a full-scale independent investigation into the various reports of police brutality against the protesters.
Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
