Amnesty International seeks CID boss permission to visit Afoko

International human rights organization Amnesty International has written to seek the permission of the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to visit murder suspect Gregory Afoko.

A letter dated 27 May, 2019 said the visit will be on Thursday, May 30, if permission being sought is granted.

This comes in the wake of a petition submitted to the organization over Mr Afoko’s “continuous detention” despite being granted bail by the Criminal Division of an Accra High Court.

Gregory Afoko, a brother to former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul, has been standing trial since 2015 for the murder of Adams Mahama, the then NPP Upper East Region Chairman.

The suspect is said to have poured acid on Mr Mahama on his way back from a party event.

But according to the petition submitted on behalf of Gregory Afoko by his lawyer, Robert Atong Asekabta, he has suffered human rights abuses since being taken to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) from the Nsawam Maximum Prisons.

He said at a point blood was even taken out from him without his knowledge.

The Director of Amnesty International-Ghana, Robert Akoto Amoafo, will lead the delegation to visit Mr Afoko.

He will be joined by the Campaign Coordinator of Amnesty International-Ghana, Samuel Agbotsey, and Francis-Xavier Sosu, who had also petitioned the global organization.