Hundreds of Ghanaians gathered outside the Jubilee House, Ghana’s presidential palace, on September 22, 2023, for a protest against economic hardship, according to the organisers, Democracy Hub. However, barely 15 minutes after the gathering, heavily armed officers swooped on the protesters, brutalised some and arrested many others. Many of the protesters were detained late into the night at several police stations in Accra, with a few spending the night in police cells.
The Police said in a statement said 49 people were involved, adding that they were arrested for “the flagrant disregard of a court process.”
The organisers, Democracy Hub, dispute the police claim, insisting that the process had not resulted in an injunction being served on them to from demonstrating.
One of the victims, Franklin Mensah, told the MFWA in a telephone conversation that he was arrested alongside 14 others simply for wearing protest T-shirts. “
“We were standing at the 37 Military Hospital bus stop after being dispersed from the gathering point outside the Jubilee House. Then some police officers arrived in three pick-up cars. They initially invited us to “talk to you”, but ended up driving us to the police headquarters. Then they picked us up in groups and sent us into detention at different police stations, still without telling us our offense. I was released around 9 o’clock in the evening”, Mensah said.
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