Apologise To Abused Journalists; GJA To Police
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has demanded an unqualified apology from the police service for the reported cases of brutalities meted out against some journalists who were arrested during the first day of the Occupy Jubilee House demonstration on Thursday.
In a press statement condemning the arrests and abuse of the journalist as recounted by some victims, the Association said it was “utterly disappointed in the Police for lowering the bar of professionalism.”
It finds the maltreatment of the police “highly unprofessional, absolutely unwarranted and inherently repugnant” on press freedom and the dignity of the affected journalists.
“The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) condemns the Ghana Police Service in no uncertain terms for arresting and maltreating some journalists covering Thursday’s demonstration in Accra. The GJA is utterly disappointed in the Police for lowering the bar of professionalism by arresting and maltreating journalists who did not breach any law but rather breached their comfort on a national hallowed day (Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day) to discharge their cardinal duty of informing the general public about happenings in the country.”
The GJA holds that the fact that journalists including foreigners were arrested at the converging point of the protest and conveyed in the buckets of the police pick-up trucks like “criminals” to the Regional Police Command and were eventually released and left stranded made the action of the police inhumane.
“The conduct of the Police in arresting and maltreating the journalists who were non-targets, transporting them in the bucket of a pick-up vehicle (not designed to carry human beings) like criminals and leaving them stranded after release to find their own way back to pick their vehicles from such a long distance, was highly unprofessional and inhumane.”
It also condemned the police for denying the arrest of BBC reporters in their statement on Thursday night. According to the Association, its investigation proved otherwise. (Lorazepam)
The GJA has therefore demanded an apology from the Police service.
“We, therefore, call on the Police to exercise utmost good faith and render an unqualified apology to all journalists who were wrongfully arrested and/or maltreated by the Police, just because they (journalists) were discharging an onerous constitutional mandate.”
A group calling itself Democracy Hub is up for a three-day protest and picketing at the Jubilee House over what they term as the economic mismanagement and corruption by the ruling government.
The first day of the protest was characterized by mayhem as the police manhandled some protesters, journalists and passers-by while effecting arrests.
