Shackling deportees not right - Botchwey

Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry says it will register the country’s displeasure at the inhumane treatment the American government meted out to some 63 Ghanaians recently deported from the USA.

The US government placed the 63 illegal Ghanaian immigrants in handcuffs for hours and only fed them bread and water.

According to US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson, the immigrants were chained because they resisted voluntary repatriation.

But reacting to the development, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, described the treatment as inhumane.

She told Class News’ parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan: “From the debriefing, we were told or it has come to light that they were treated in a way that they shouldn’t have been treated and that is: put in chains from the time they embarked until the time they disembarked, so that is unacceptable.

“We are going to get in touch with the American authorities, that is, the embassy here, for them to give us an explanation and express our concern that this is not right, it is inhumane, it shouldn’t happen, it goes against the basic human rights of the people.

“They may be illegal immigrants, they may even be convicted criminals, but they have served their sentences especially those who have been convicted of some kind of offense. They have finished their sentence and therefore they shouldn’t be treated in such a way. So we are going to register our displeasure and hopefully it won’t happen again.”