IFJ joins the call for an investigation into the arrest and torture of two journalists

General News of Sunday, July 7th, 2019

Source: ifj.org

2019-07-07

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has supported its affiliate, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), in calling for the opening of an independent investigation into the arrest, detention and alleged torture. journalists Emmanuel Ajafor Abugri and Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum.

The two journalists, who work for the Ghanaian digital media ModernGhana, were arrested and charged with cybercrime on June 27, following the publication on the site of an article criticizing the Minister of National Security.

During the raid, laptops were seized from the ModernGhana office by National Security agents. National civil society organizations have denounced the "Rambo style" of the raid.

The journalists remained in detention for four days. After their release, they denounced allegations of torture and ill-treatment by the authorities, who repeatedly "slapped" them and checked all their phones and social media accounts without a warrant. They were also forced to remove critical positions from the minister.

"National Security officials were convinced that I was Constance Kwabeng, the author of the article, and they wanted me to confess.Any question that officers asked me was followed or preceded by A slap, "said Emmanuel Ajafor Abugri in an interview on local radio. , adding that officials had used an electric pulse electric pistol on the arms and ears.

The Ghanaian authorities have denied all allegations of torture.

GJA President Roland Affail Monney said: "Because of democratic principles, freedom and independence of the media and the tradition of defending the rights of journalists, we unequivocally condemned the and the procedure put in place to obtain justice for cybercrime allegedly committed by journalists. We call for an independent investigation to determine the truth in this case. "

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "The arbitrary arrest and torture of journalists doing their job are very serious allegations. We urge the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation immediately. We stand in solidarity with our two colleagues ".

I was badigned and slapped several times and handcuffed. They even asked me to confess that it was me who had written the article against the minister and that I had just used a pseudonym – Emmanuel Ajafor Abugri. [Editor of News website, Modern Ghana] #CitiCBS

– CitiNewsroom (@ Citi973) July 2, 2019