Democracy Hub Demo: Lawyers in darkness over accused, prepare bail application for High Court this week

Lawyers and relatives of the detained Democracy Hub members arrested in the #ReOccupyJulorbiHouse protest and charged with various offenses, including unlawful assembly, are in darkness over the whereabouts of their clients.

The Lawyers for the Protest Defence said as they prepare a repeat bail application for the High Court in the “course of the week,” they are unable to tell which specific facility each of the detainees has been sent to.

Between Tuesday, September 24, and Thursday, September 26, a total of 53 accused persons, including Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Elorm Ababio, popularly known as Ama Governor, Felicity Nelson, and Ralph William, have all been remanded into lawful custody by the Circuit Court in Accra.

One other, who is said to be on the run, has a bench warrant issued for his arrest.

But, as their lawyers prepare to make a repeat bail application at the High Court this week, they are currently in darkness as to the specific facility each of the accused has been sent to.

“Our team of lawyers is working round the clock to have the bail applications for the detainees repeated in the High Court in the course of the week,” Lawyers for Protest Defence stated in an update on Monday evening, September 30, 2024.

Below is the full statement

1. Attached to this notice is the list of persons we can confirm are in detention in relation to the #ReOccupyJulorbiHouse protest. The list also indicates the court before which each detainee is arraigned. Everyone on the list has been charged with the crime of unlawful assembly and other related crimes.

2. We are unable to confirm or indicate the detention facilities where each person on the list is being kept. This is because of the police’s unusual practice of indiscriminately moving the detainees around detention facilities without notice to the detainees’ relatives or us, their lawyers.

3. We are unable to confirm the place of custody of detainee number 13, Thomas Yeboah. No member of our team has, even after diligent inquiry, seen Thomas since his last appearance in Circuit Court 6, Accra.

4. We wish to advise relatives, associates, or friends who, as of today, do not have any reliable information on the whereabouts of their loved ones to, at this point, make a formal “missing” complaint to the police.

5. Our team of lawyers is working round the clock to have the bail applications for the detainees repeated in the High Court in the course of the week.

Find attached the names of all the accused persons and the court they were arraigned