Amnesty International has chastised the police for doing little to assist a journalist who was abused up by two soldiers at Michelle Camp last Wednesday.
The journalist James Harry Obeng was allegedly manhandled by two soldiers and forced to weed for an hour.
After he was released, he went to the Mataheko police station to make a complaint against the two military officers but the police asked him to take the matter to the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Although CHRAJ has been petitioned on the matter, the Country Director for Amnesty International, Robert Akoto Amoafo in an interview with Citi News said the police should have shown more empathy towards the victim.
“The police could have done more than just directing the person. The police could have taken the charge. Escorted the person through whatever process there are, so that person has confidence that they reported to the police and the right thing has been done rather than redirecting the person. The police could have done more than redirecting the journalist to CHRAJ was not enough,” he said.
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) said it has received a complaint of abuse of a journalist by two soldiers.
Mr James Harry Obeng, a journalist, was on Wednesday allegedly manhandled by the two military men at Michelle Camp for committing no offence.
He said he first lodged a complaint at Mataheko police station but the police advised him to report the case to CHRAJ.
Mr Obeng said the soldier, whose names he gave as Owusu and Mensah, made him to weed for one hour before they released him.
When contacted, an officer at the Complainants Unit, CHRAJ, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the story to the Ghanaian Times, and said three directors of the commission would look into the case, and determine whether the commission has the mandate to conduct further investigations.