Amnesty International accuses Ghana of violating human rights, including through LGBTI discrimination and police brutality.

In its yearly report on The State of the World’s Human Rights, Amnesty International lists various instances of human rights abuses in Ghana.

The report called attention to problems such the infringement of the right to free speech, police brutality, forcible evictions, child labor, discrimination against LGBTIQ persons, and violations of women’s rights.

Freedom of speech

The study indicated a decline in Ghana’s freedom of speech, citing Reporters Without Borders’ 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

The report stated that in February, radio DJ Oheneba Boamah Bennie was found guilty of contempt of court and given a two-week prison term as well as a GH3,000 (USD 243) fine after releasing a video in which he claimed President Akufo-Addo had planned to collude with judges to influence the 2020 presidential elections.

“In August, the Ashanti Region’s Kumasi Traditional Council imposed a suspension order on the radio station Oyerepa FM after it aired an interview with the leader of an opposition party who accused the traditional authority of ignoring illegal mining activities in the area and threatened to organize a protest. After the station’s management apologized, the station was given permission to resume operations three days later. Amnesty International

A number of instances of police officers employing excessive force were also documented in the report, including one instance in which a gang of plain-clothes security personnel attacked a radio host and caused eardrum damage because the man would not give up his phone.

A spectator was killed and at least five other protestors were injured after protesters attacked a police station during a violent demonstration in Nkoranza, Bono East Region, according to the report.

Torture

The research also brought attention to the pervasive issue of authorities, including security personnel, torturing and mistreating people.

It discussed a number of well-known examples, such as the one involving social activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor, who was charged with treason in February after threatening to organize a coup if parliament approved the electronic levy bill.

Barker-Vormawor claimed that throughout his arrest and two-month detention, security personnel assaulted him for more than three hours, and that he was occasionally kept in solitary confinement. Additionally, he stated that police had threatened to forcefully vanish him. His case is still open. Amnesty International

It further stated that investigative journalist Michael Aidoo had allegedly been tortured and mistreated in March after being attacked by Afari Military Hospital guards for taping a ruling party office on the hospital’s property. He claims that the troops beat him repeatedly and made him perform push-ups while wearing a cement block around his waist. Amnesty International

The Amnesty International report also emphasized the continued use of the prohibited practice of chaining patients with real or suspected mental health disorders in conventional medical or religious establishments. More than 60 people, including children, were being detained in chains or cages when the organization visited five institutions.

Mandatory evictions

Several instances of forced evictions were also mentioned in the study, including the demolition of hundreds of dwellings in a Frafraha informal colony that was situated on land owned by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. According to the article, the inhabitants were given only 48 hours’ notice and were not transferred, leaving them without a place to live. Amnesty International

LGBTI discrimination

A law that will further criminalize LGBTI individuals and introduce prison sentences for anyone expressing support or “sympathy” for them is currently before parliament, according to the report, which claimed that prejudice against LGBTI persons is still occurring. Numerous women were accused of witchcraft and sent to six “witch” camps as a result of this discrimination against women, which persisted at the time. Seven persons were detained and charged in August in connection with the deaths of a man and a woman who were forced to consume a priest’s concoction after being accused of being witches.

According to the article, child labor is still a problem in the nation, particularly in the agricultural sector. In fact, a documentary by the UK-based Channel 4 television station featured images of kids as young as 10 using machetes on cocoa farms. 60 Ghanaian youngsters, ranging in age from five to 17, accused a cocoa producer of breaking the country’s laws against child labor in August. Amnesty International

Two bills to remove the death penalty were presented to Parliament, according to the report, but they were still being debated at year’s conclusion. A draft bill to amend the Criminal and Other Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) to make it unlawful to declare, accuse, name, or label someone as a witch or to hire another person to do so was also mentioned. This bill sought to address the gender imbalance in the private and public sectors. Amnesty International

The report urged the Ghanaian government to act right away to rectify these problems and guarantee that all citizens’ human rights are protected.

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