Four Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) organisations in Ghana have condemned what they believe is a creeping re-introduction of the abolished criminal regime under the current administration.
The Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), STAR-Ghana Foundation, IMANI Africa and the Africa Center for International Law & Accountability (ACILA) say they are deeply concerned about “the apparent resurrection” of the criminal libel regime through a series of recent arrests.
“In the latest of such episodes, the Executive Director of the Alliance For Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Mr. Mensah Thompson, is being prosecuted on a charge of the publication of false news for making a post on his Facebook page on or about January 8, 2022, alleging that certain relatives of the President travelled to the United Kingdom (U.K.) on the official presidential jet for pleasure and shopping during the Christmas season.
“It is noteworthy that, following discussions with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and in apparent anticipation of an official refutation of the allegation, Mr. Thompson publicly retracted the allegation and apologized to the GAF on or about January 9, 2022,” the CSOs said in a joint statement.
“Our legal system provides noncriminal or civil avenues for dealing with uses of free speech that injure or infringe on the rights of others.
The abolition of criminal libel in the aftermath of the Rawlings regime in 2001, a move popularly championed by President Nana Akufo-Addo during his tenure as a private lawyer and, later, Attorney-General, left injured parties free to resort to civil remedies to deal with false and libellous publications, the statement indicated.
Moreover, our legal system provides offending parties with the prospect of avoiding even civil liability by retracting the offending publication and rendering an appropriate apology to the injured or offended party,” the statement continued.
Read the full statement below.
Source: yagbonradioonline
