Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have expressed worry about the “growing use of the state prosecutorial and judicial power” to punish speech that allegedly injures or damages the reputation of others and state institutions.
“We note with deep concern the apparent resurrection of the discredited criminal libel regime through a series of recent arrests and prosecution of persons for statements made or published in the media,” they said.
The CSOs stated that the country’s legal system provided for non-criminal or civil avenues for dealing with uses of free speech that injured or infringed on the rights of others.
In a statement jointly issued by the Center for Democratic Development-Ghana (CDD-Ghana), IMANI Africa and Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), said the abolition of criminal libel in the aftermath of the Rawlings regime in 2001, a move championed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during his tenure as a private lawyer, representing journalists and media houses.
It comes on the back of the prosecution of Mensah Thompson, Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), on a charge of publication of false news and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace.
He made a post on his Facebook page on January 8, 2022, alleging that certain relatives of the president traveled to the United Kingdom on the official presidential jet for pleasure and shopping during the Christmas season.
Mr Thompson publicly retracted the allegation and apologised to the Ghana Armed Forces on January 9, 2022, following his original post which had called on the Ghana Armed Forces, among others, to explain circumstances of alleged use of presidential jet by the president’s alleged members of family.
He was arrested and detained at the Teshie District Command of the Ghana Police Service on February 9, 2022 and on February 10, 2022, he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail by the Kaneshie District Court.
The statement said in Nana Akufo-Addo’s capacity as Attorney General and Minister of Justice,he left injured parties free to resort to civil alternatives and remedies to deal with false and libelous publications and the law provided offending parties prospect of avoiding civil liability by retracting offending publication and rendering appropriate apology to injured or offended party.
The statement called on the Attorney General to discontinue the prosecution of Mr Thompson and take steps to stop all persons acting under his authority from re-introducing in another guise the long-discredited and abolished criminal libel regime and urged media practitioners and users to tone down inflammatory rhetoric that had contaminated the public space and airwaves.
“Desist from knowingly or recklessly making or publishing false statements, and use, to an extent possible, the Right to Information Act and its processes to access information from public authorities,” the statement said. -GNA
