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Court grants permission for detained Liberian refugees to be
interviewed
Accra, April 8, Ghanadot/GNA - An Accra
Fast Track High Court on Tuesday ordered the Ghana
Immigration Service (GIS) to allow four legal practitioners
from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and the
Legal Resource Centre (LRC) to interview 22 Liberian
refugees in their custody.
This is to enable the two institutions to verify the status
of the 22 persons in the custody of the GIS.
This followed the filing of a motion on notice for writ of
Habeas Corpus on behalf of Theresa Cheddah Dogbey and 22
other refugees. GIS personnel escorted the 23 applicants to
the court premises on Tuesday.
The Habeas Corpus was filed against the Minister of Interior
and the Inspector General of Police. The two were to produce
the bodies of the applicant and 22 others being detained in
a cell of the GIS headquarters.
GIS and Ministry of Interior are to justify the continued
detention of the applicants and give reasons why the court
should not order their release.
CHRI and LRC are seeking an order of injunction restraining
the Minister of the Interior, the IGP and Director of GIS
from taking further action, including the deportation of the
applicants.
In an affidavit in support of the motion, Ms Dogbey said on
March 17, this year, she was among 630 women and children
who were arrested and detained at Kordiabe Training Centre
in the Greater Accra Region.
According to her she was a registered refugee with the
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR in Accra.
She said her 10-year-old daughter Joetta Solo, who was at
the moment resident at Buduburam and her husband had been
issued with refugee identity cards.
The applicant said at about 1800 hours on March 31, she and
16 other women and seven children were transferred to GIS in
preparation for deportation pointing out that her detention
was unlawful.
In her submission in court, Nana Oye Lithur told the court,
presided over by Mr Justice P.K. Gyeasayor, a Court of
Appeal Judge, that she had no information on the applicants
except Theresa Cheddah Dogbey.
She said they had no information on the 22 other applicants
because GIS had refused to give them access to the
applicants.
She argued that Theresa was a registered refugee and was
entitled to remain in Ghana and she needed the protection of
the court even if she was a non-citizen.
She said the applicants were unlawfully arrested at
Buduburam in the Central Regional and sent to Kordiabe and
later escorted to cells of GIS, Accra.
Nana Oye said it was unfortunate that the Police and
Ministry of the Interior came out to say that they were
engaged in an unlawful demonstration and had violated the
Public Order Act.
"As far as the refugees were concerned, they thought they
had committed an offence. If that is the basis, why are they
not on trial?"
According to her, among those in custody, were some minors
adding that, this was against the Children’s Rights law.
While Mr Jones Appleh represented the Ministry of the
Interior, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, Principal State Attorney,
represented the Attorney General.
The court adjourned the matter to Monday for the CHRI and
LRC to interview the 22 applicants and complete their
motion.
GNA
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