The following is an ARTICLE 19 letter to President Jerry Rawlings, calling on the Ghanaian authorities to drop the threat to charge Kabral Blay-Amihere with sedition and end their continuing harassment of the journalist: 9 February, 2000 His Excellency Jerry Rawlings President of the Republic of Ghana The Castle PO Box 1627 Accra, Ghana FAX […]
The following is an ARTICLE 19 letter to President Jerry Rawlings, calling on the Ghanaian authorities to drop the threat to charge Kabral Blay-Amihere with sedition and end their continuing harassment of the journalist:
9 February, 2000
His Excellency Jerry Rawlings
President of the Republic of Ghana
The Castle
PO Box 1627
Accra, Ghana
FAX NO: 00 233 21 664 089
Your Excellency,
ARTICLE 19 is writing to add its voice to those who have expressed grave concern about the ongoing harassment of Kabral Blay-Amihere, president of the West African Journalists’ Association and editor of The Independent newspaper.
Following his brief detention by the military in January in response an editorial in The Independent in which he had described the traditional 31 December military parade in Accra as a relic of the days when the military controlled all state agencies and affairs in Ghana, we understand that he is now being threatened by the police with a charge of sedition in connection with the same article.
The law of sedition is the crime of speaking words against the state. The basic premise of sedition laws is that it is wrong to criticize public figures or institutions. This premise is fundamentally incompatible with a democratic form of government in which the ability to criticize such figures or institutions is a sine qua non for informed democratic choice. As a result, in many jurisdictions, sedition is today either formally or effectively a dead letter. The only circumstances in the sphere of expression in which criminal sanctions can be justified is where an intention to incite violence or lawless conduct has been demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt and where there is a real risk that such violence will imminently ensue. So while there may be Ghanaians – not least within the military itself – who object to criticism of the 31 December military parade, the mere expression of such a view should not constitute a criminal offence in a democracy.
Accordingly, ARTICLE 19 calls upon the Ghanaian authorities to drop the threat to charge Kabral Blay-Amihere with sedition and end their continuing harassment of him. In addition, there should be an urgent review of all remaining laws, including sedition, which violate Ghana’s international legal obligation to respect freedom of expression under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Puddephatt
Executive Director
Recommended Action
Similar appeals can be sent to:
His Excellency Jerry Rawlings
President of the Republic of Ghana
The Castle
PO Box 1627
Accra, Ghana
Fax: +233 21 664 089
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