A member of the defence team for arrested protestors, Nii Odokwei Cudjoe, has criticised the charges brought against them.
The protestors were charged with three counts: causing damage to political party paraphernalia, causing unlawful damage, and conspiracy to hold an unlawful assembly, when they were sent to court today.
According to JoyNews correspondent Kenneth Gyasi, 12 of the protestors have so far pleaded not guilty.
In an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Tuesday, September 24, Mr Cudjoe condemned the charges, stating that it is unfair to label the protestors’ actions as unlawful assembly.
“When there is an international event, the police will block the street and say we should use other roads so that the participants of those events will have unhindered access to those roads, that doesn’t cause any damage but when the section of the sovereign people of this country are protesting the reckless destruction of our environment, in fact, environmental terrorism currently going on. The police are saying that – even they standing on the shoulders of the road – on the pavement is an unlawful assembly, we find this very unacceptable,” he stressed.
He argued that peaceful protests, even on the pavement, should not be criminalised, particularly when citizens are protesting against serious issues like environmental degradation.
Mr Cudjoe further described the police’s actions as “administrative tyranny,” accusing them of attempting to assert power unnecessarily.
“It is just those days when they will say orders from above and just arrest you. A proper policing for a democracy should have understood and respected the rights of these demonstrators.”
Mr Cudjoe further questioned the justification the police had in forcefully trying to remove the essential truck for demonstrators packed under the shed saying it is an “‘unnecessary escalation of the situation just to give the dog a bad name so you can hang them.”
He criticized the police for forcefully removing an essential truck used by demonstrators, calling it an “unnecessary escalation” of the situation.
He emphasised the need for public scrutiny of both the police and judicial system to safeguard citizens’ rights in a democratic society.
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