Democracy Hub has decided to pursue legal action against the Ghana Police Service in response to alleged incidents of brutality against protesters during the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protest that took place on September 21, 2023.
This decision comes after the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, stated that the organizers had not substantiated their claims of assault by the police.
During a year-end dialogue session with various stakeholders, Dr. Dampare said “after months of completing that demonstration to today, not a shred of evidence has been brought up to indicate that the police have brutalised them.”
In a statement shared by #FixTheCountry on behalf of Democracy Hub on October 31, the group noted that the IGP received direct accounts of the brutality meted out to the protestors as well as the manner in which citizens devices were confiscated to prevent the filming of abuses.
“This can be confirmed by several independent persons who were in that meeting. Also, several videos and images in the public domain confirm the brutalities meted out to protestors including journalists and lawyers present on that day,” the statement added.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 30, 2023
Press Statement
RE: Concerns Regarding Recent Pronouncements by the Inspector General of Police
[Accra, Ghana] – The attention of Democracy Hub has been drawn to recent pronouncements and the consistent miscommunications…
— #Fixthecountry (@Ghfixthecountry) October 31, 2023
According to the group, the deem the IGP’s statement as “reckless” and one that reflects “a worrying institutional trend of disregarding proper procedure and standards.”
“We are also disappointed by the failure of the IGP to exhibit the critical leadership expected of his office as well as a commitment to standards reflective of the Ghana Police Service’s pivotal role in maintaining law and order,” the group further noted.
In view of this, the group has resolved to initiate immediate legal action against the Ghana Police Service “in connection with the violation of our constitutional rights to assembly, freedom from torture and inhumane treatment.”
Background
The first day of the 3-day protest which ended on September 23, was marked by police arrests, with the protest being labeled an “unlawful assembly and violation of the Public Order Act.”
Numerous individuals, including journalists, protesters, and bystanders, recounted incidents of police brutality during the arrests.
Heavy security presence at 37 station as Police arrest leaders of Occupy Julorbi protest. pic.twitter.com/5zGW2eXndW
— Serwaa Amihere (@Serwaa_Amihere) September 21, 2023
A female reporter from Metro TV, Bridget Otoo, shared her experience of being manhandled by multiple police officers when she attempted to film the assault of a man who had been pulled from the entrance of the Accra Regional Police Command onto the premises.
She reported that some officers tugged at her shirt collar, while one officer attempted to seize her cell phone, with which she had captured the footage, from between her thighs as she tried to protect it from them.
In a separate account, Barker Vormawor, the protest’s convenor, stated that he and other demonstrators were confined to a room at the Accra Regional Police Command, where 17 individuals, purportedly intelligence officers, were allowed into the room to physically assault them.
theindependentghana.com
