The Office of the Attorney General has expressed disappointment over the failure of lawyers representing Vera, a pregnant protester, to inform the court of her pregnancy during her bail hearing.
Vera, who is four months pregnant, was arrested during a Democracy Hub demonstration and subsequently remanded in custody for two weeks.
Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah Yeboah, speaking to Citi News, stressed that it is the responsibility of the defense counsel to inform the court of their client’s pregnancy.
He explained that the court cannot independently verify such details, and if the lawyers had made this known, it could have been taken into account when deciding whether to grant bail.
Mr Tuah Yeboah clarified that while the law mandates the disclosure of pregnancy during sentencing, there is no explicit requirement for it during bail applications.
However, he emphasised that informing the court of such important factors could influence the court’s decision.
He criticised Vera’s legal team for neglecting their duty to disclose her condition, thereby depriving the court of crucial information that could have impacted her bail status.
He stated, “On this issue about the pregnant person, whether she’s pregnant or not, it’s not something that I can confirm for now, but the law on these matters is very clear. Now, when someone is pregnant and she’s stood before a law court, and the court is considering whether to grant bail or not to grant bail, the lawyer of a certain accused person must make it known to the court that his client is pregnant and provide the evidence.”
“So the court, considering the bail application, they want to look at that aspect of it. But the courts are also mandated by law. When they convict a female person, and it’s about to sentence the female, the court is mandated to inquire whether the female, that accused person, is pregnant. So when it comes to the grant of bail, the law does not mandate the judges to inquire, but when it comes to sentencing, that is where the judge prefers to do that.”
“On this particular case, I’ve checked with the attorneys who were in court yesterday, and from what we have been told, the issue of the pregnancy of an accused person never came up in court for the court’s consideration.
“And so if indeed one of the accused persons is pregnant, then the counsel for that accused person feels it is his duty to disclose that information to the court.”
“So if there’s any blame, I’d rather lay it on the doorsteps of the lawyer for that accused person and I’ve gone to the extent also to find out from the CID whether that information of pregnancy came to be a notice, whether that accused person disclosed to them that she was pregnant and there’s nothing from their end to that effect.”
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