The Ghana Police Service on Thursday, September 21, 2023, arrested some local and foreign journalists during the “Occupy Julorbi House” demonstration despite proper identification of journalists, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has said.
The association in a press statement signed by its General Secretary, Kofi Yeboah, described the act by the Ghana Police as distasteful and unprofessional.
It also noted that the act was unwarranted and inherently repugnant to press freedom and the dignity of the affected broadcasters.
“In our estimation, the conduct of the Police was highly unprofessional, absolutely unwarranted and inherently repugnant to press freedom and the dignity of the affected journalists”
“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,” Mr. Yeboah added.
He continued by saying, ”Our investigations indicated that some journalists, including correspondents of foreign media organizations such as the BBC, AFP, and AP, were arrested in spite of the fact that they properly identified themselves.”
The association further asked the police to exercise good faith and apologize to all journalists who were wrongfully arrested and or maltreated just for discharging their onerous constitutional mandate. It also expressed its heartfelt sympathies to the affected journalists and wished them a speedy recovery from the bodily and emotional harm they suffered at the hands of the Police for no crime committed.
