Lawyer for some of the Arise Ghana protesters, George Opare Addo, has disclosed that the protesters that were arrested on Tuesday 28th June, 2022 during the Arise Ghana demonstration were left to starve in police custody.

Mr . Opare Addo indicated that one of the 29 who were arrested and kept in police custody had to be rushed to the hospital due to the impact of the hunger he suffered and is still hospitalized.

“The other 28 were kept in Tesano, Osu, Ministries, La, and Nima Police Stations.
George Opare Addo

The lawyer disclosed that they got to the police headquarters around 9:30 pm to present themselves as legal counsel to the arrested protesters but they were refused entry and access to them.

“No matter what we said, they still refused us. We opted that they should allow us to give them food because they were hungry but they denied us.”
George Opare Addo

Lawyer Opare also emphasized that if the police had not granted the arrested protesters a police inquiry bill, it would have been a blatant violation of the rights of the suspects since the 48 hours lawful custody would have been elapsed.

Police grants bail to arrested protestors

The Police have granted bail to 29 persons who were picked up during the two-day Arise Ghana demonstration which ended on Wednesday June 29, 2022.

They were held at four different police stations across the city.

According to the Police statement, twenty-six of the arrested persons who met the bail conditions were released earlier. It indicated that the remaining three had to go through the process of satisfying the bail conditions for their release.

“The Martyr’s day celebrations made it difficult for the suspects to be arraigned before the court. Therefore, in line with the constitutional provision of not keeping suspects beyond 48 hours, they were granted bail and will be arraigned on Monday 4 July 2022.”
Ghana Polic

The Police intimated that it remains committed to ensuring that all other perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the laws of the country.

The 29 persons were kept in police custody after being arrested for breaching the law on Day 1.

The first day of the exercise was marred by chaotic scenes with the pelting of stones and firing of tear gas and spraying of hot water against protesters.

The protestors in retaliation threw stones and other objects at the police while burning car tires.

However, Day 2, whose starting point was moved to the El Wak Sports Stadium as a result of events of Day 1, was held peacefully as petitions were presented to the Ministry of Finance and Parliament.