The Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has called on the Ghana Police Service to fulfill their duty to protect and not oppress the citizens of this country.

According to CDD Ghana, the responsibility of the police to maintain public order must be carried out in accordance with the letter and spirit of the 1992 constitution.

The Centre therefore called on the government and all relevant authorities to uphold the constitutional rights of all Ghanaians including the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and protection from unlawful detention.

This was contained in a press statement issued in Accra during which the Centre strongly condemned the unlawful tactics employed by the Ghana Police Service in the recent arrest and detention of some 40 citizens exercising their constitutional rights to protest over the weekend.

In the view of the Centre, these individuals were demonstrating against critical national issues, including the rising incidence of state capture, widespread corruption, and the unchecked illegal small- scale mining (galamsey) that is devastating the country’s water bodies.

The CDD-Ghana stated that they are particularly concerned about the Ghana Police Services repeated use of excessive and illegal control tactics when dealing with young protesters and even to the extent of arresting ordinary bystanders who were merely going about their daily activities.

 

The Center specifically condemned some actions of the police which included the unnecessary manhandling and brutality of citizens exercising their civic and political rights to protest, the refusal by the police to release the complete list of the arrested individuals, the ongoing denial of access to legal counsel for detainees in direct violation of Article (14) 2 of the 1992 Constitution which underscores the situation’s urgency, the failure to notify lawyers of the detained individuals before their arraignment before the Circuit Court, the unlawful transfer of detainees from police cells to prison without Court approval and the prolonged detention of protesters beyond 48 hours without being brought to a competent Court which also violates Article (14) 3 of the 1992 Constitution. The Centre also condemned the continuous denial of family members to see their detained relatives.

These actions according to the Centre violate the detainees’ fundamental human rights and undermine the rule of law in Ghana’s constitutional democracy. “Such misconduct erodes public trust in our legal system and public institutions.”, the statement added.

The Centre through the statement further reminded the government and relevant authorities that Ghana is a signatory to the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which upholds the right to peaceful assembly under Article 21. This right is echoed in Article 21(1)(d) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which states that: “All persons shall have the right to freedom of assembly, including freedom to take part in processions and demonstrations.” The freedom to assemble is not just a fundamental right but is also indispensable for civic development, political awareness, and citizen participation in public affairs.

In this regard, CDD-Ghana calls for the immediate observance of fair and due process for all detainees and strict adherence to the rule of law.

Source: SonShinne News/ Jessica Johnson