Five radio stations were forced off the air for several hours after their broadcasting equipment was seized by personnel from the Interim Copyright Management Team.
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 16 January 2010, broadcasting equipment belonging to five privately-owned radio stations in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana was confiscated by personnel from the Interim Copyright Management Team (ICMT) of the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA).
The stations – Ark FM, Dinpa FM, Sky FM, Life FM and Vizem FM – went off the air for several hours after their consoles were forcibly seized.
In a letter to the Ghana Independent Broadcasters’ Association (GIBA), the management of Sky FM alleged that the team that confiscated the equipment, which was comprised of six armed policemen and four ICMT officials, had no search warrant and intimidated the station’s staff. The managers said Sky FM was off the air for about fifteen hours.
Police officers and ICMT officials stormed the studios of the various stations and demanded that they produce original copies of a CD they had been playing.
Meanwhile, at a meeting on 18 January between the GIBA and the ICMT, under the chairmanship of the minster of communication, the ICMT ageed to restrain its members from embarking on unilateral actions and harassment of radio stations.
