The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has said the persons arrested during the anti-galamsey protest in Accra deserved to be prosecuted since their actions posed a threat to public safety.
Some demonstrators who stormed the streets on a three-day protest between September 21 and 23, 2024 to demand the government to stop illegal mining were arrested for various offences.
Organised by a group called Democracy Hub, 53 persons were picked by the police and detained, before a High Court remanded them for two extra weeks.
The development, which has caused public disaffection, has been criticised by many including several Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
But speaking at the Annual Conference of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) Wednesday, October 02, 2024, Godfred Dame stated that the protesters went beyond the limits of free expression.
He asked that Ghanaians take a cue from how protesters who go overboard are treated during demonstrations and follow suit, adding that peace and security need to be maintained as Ghana heads into elections in December.
The Attorney General advised that people exercise their rights accordingly despite having the liberty to do so as enshrined in the Constitution.
“As I always say, freedom is not free. It is accompanied by serious responsibilities,” he stated.
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He stated specifically that the Democracy Hub protest recently organised against galamsey was a threat to Ghana’s peace and territorial integrity.
He mentioned that in the UK and US, protestors who went overboard were made to face the full rigours of the law and same should be applied in Ghana.
“The lesson to be drawn from the treatment of unlawful or violent expression of free speech in the United States and the United Kingdom is that the legitimacy of the declared object of specific protests does not matter.
“Whilst acknowledging the legitimacy of concerns which motivate some protests, the State must deplore and, in fact, prosecute acts of protestors which threaten the running of essential services, infringe on the right to free movement of others, or attack the safety of security forces,” he stated.
He said that such acts are not to be countenanced in Ghana, urging the Judiciary to deal firmly with such persons who exhibit lawlessness under the guise of protest, especially in the lead up to the elections.
“Protests that disrupt the lives of ordinary citizens, attack the police, or threaten essential services cannot be justified under the banner of free expression,” Mr Dame declared.
“The peace and territorial integrity of our nation at this time, almost two months before Election 2024, is far greater than the pursuit of any parochial political goals.”
He added that he has charged the Ghana Police Service to fasten its investigations into the issues relating to the Democracy Hub protesters and release those who are not guilty.
“I urge the Police Service to swiftly conclude investigations by the next adjourned dates of the cases involving the prosecution of excesses from recent protests in Accra,” he stated.
