Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey and CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, has described the recent assault of a JoyNews journalist by military personnel as deeply troubling and painful.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, July 31, Dr Ashigbey said, “It really is very heart-wrenching to see these things happen, and it’s just because this impunity goes unpunished.”
He cited past incidents of abuse by security forces that were either not resolved or lacked transparency.
“We have several examples of these things that happen and then nothing comes out of them,” he said, referencing the case of police brutality in Ablekuma North and an assault on another journalist at the police headquarters.
According to him, “We are told of interdiction and it’s all clouded in secrecy and nothing happens.”
Dr Ashigbey stressed the need for accountability and openness from the authorities in such matters.
“It is important that in this one and in the rest of them, we demand transparency from the authorities in terms of the way the punishments are done.”
While he acknowledged the military’s statement indicating that investigations were underway, he was quick to add, “Yes, it’s good that the statement has been issued, but what happens after today? We need to be kept in the know.”
He called on media houses and civil society to push for justice, including pursuing legal action both locally and internationally if necessary.
“We should get to the point where, just as we did in other cases, especially Multimedia, where you took civil action, some action has to be taken,” he said.
Citing the unresolved cases of journalists like JoyNews’ Latif Iddrisu and Pious’s case during elections, he urged media organisations to escalate unresolved human rights violations.
“If it won’t be handled in Ghana, we should be going to the ECOWAS Human Rights Court,” he emphasised.
Background
Armed military officers on Wednesday, July 30, attacked JoyNews reporter Carlos Carlony, his cameraman and an eyewitness while the journalist was covering a demolition exercise at Spintex in Accra.
The soldiers further damaged the equipment of the journalist, leaving his camera in ruins and the victims with injuries.
Mr Carlony was later whisked away in a military vehicle, and his phones were seized as he was subjected to intense interrogation at Blue Gate, a facility by National Security carries out its operations.
Read also: JoyNews journalist Carlos Carlony recounts Military assault at McDan warehouse demolition site
He was only released after the intervention by the Minister for the Interior, with the government condemning the action of the soldiers.
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