The Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has pointed out on the floor of Parliament that it is wrong for police officers to violate the fundamental human rights of citizens even if they are suspected to be armed robbers.
In a submission on a statement presented by the Ranking Member for Defence and Interior Select Committee and Member of Parliament for Builsa North, James Agalga on the shooting of some seven suspected armed robbers at Kumasi, Mr Iddrisu cautioned that it is unacceptable in Ghana’s jurisdiction to subject any civilian to severe beatings.
“The police must stop violating the fundamental human rights and freedoms of citizens. There is no where in the constitution of Ghana that mandates the police to beat even suspected armed robbers. There is no law that justifies the shooting of suspected armed robbers”, he indicated.
He explained that Article 15 of the 1992 Constitution points out that the dignity of persons shall be inviolable by any person.
Mr Iddrisu again added that there are many abuses in the country by the police service whenever they want to conduct arrest on suspected armed robbers.
In his submission, Mr Iddrisu pointed out that some police officers do not treat suspected armed robbers with dignity; rather they are brutalised and shot in some cases.
He suggested that the police services need to understand how suspected criminals are to be treated in accordance with law.
In his recommendation, Mr Iddrisu again stated that recruitment of officers must be done in a professional manner to identify the right-thinking candidates for the job.
In his concluding submission, he called on the the Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu, and the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery to conduct a full investigation and publicly offer explanation on police brutality and the killing of the seven suspected armed robbers in Kumasi.
Statutory basis of Article 15 of the 1992 Constitution
Article 15 (1) states that “The dignity of all persons shall be inviolable.
(2) No person shall, whether or not he is arrested, restricted or retained, be subjected to;
(a) torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
(b) any other condition that detracts or is likely to detract from his dignity and worth as a human being.
(3) A person who has not been convicted of a criminal offence shall not be treated as a convicted person and shall be kept separately from convicted persons.
(4) A juvenile offender who is kept in lawful custody or detention shall be kept separately from an adult offender”.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
