An Accra High Court has ordered the Ghana Police Service to pay GHS 150,000 in damages for violating the fundamental rights of journalist Bridget Otoo and two activists.
The judgment, delivered this morning, stems3 from the state’s aggressive response to the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests, where law enforcement officers were found to have abandoned their duty of protection in favour of physical intimidation.
Alongside the primary damages, Justice Brew ordered the police to pay an additional GHS 30,000 to cover the legal expenses incurred by the trio during the litigation.
Presiding over the case, Justice Brew did not mince words, describing the conduct of the officers involved as “unconstitutional.” The court’s findings detailed a harrowing account of state-sponsored aggression aimed at silencing those documenting the demonstration.
Bridget Otoo, a prominent media personality, was subjected to a degrading assault during which her blouse was ripped apart by officers.
The violence extended to George Gyening Anyang, who was subjected to a barrage of slaps and punches.
The court heard that Anyang was further brutalised with a metallic belt and a baton while attempting to live-stream the unfolding chaos at the regional police station.
The third applicant, Vanessa Edotom Boateng, was unlawfully detained by the police.
The court established that her mobile phone was confiscated specifically to prevent her from recording the brutality being meted out to protesters, an act the judge viewed as a direct interference with her personal liberties.
Beyond the financial penalties, the court has demanded a public admission of wrongdoing.
The Ghana Police Service is now legally mandated to publish an unqualified apology to the three victims in the Daily Graphic, Ghana’s most widely circulated national newspaper.
