Ghana



Campaigns and Advocacy

27 January 2010

Hundreds to march in support of Right to Information Bill

Apart from raising awareness, the march will highlight the need for a thorough revision of draft bill to ensure that it complies with international best practice standards.



From the Communiqué

17 November 2004

MFWA PUBLISHES BOOK ON GHANA MEDIA LAWS

Researching Ghana's laws pertaining to media and freedom of expression should now be easier thanks to a new reference guide published by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). The IFEX member has just launched "Legislation on Media, Speech and Expression in Ghana: A Source Book."
26 June 2001

PROCESS TO ELIMINATE CRIMINAL LIBEL BEGINS

Ghana has begun the process to remove criminal libel from its statute books, report the West African Journalists Association (WAJA) and ARTICLE 19. The bill that would repeal the law on seditious libel was published in the official gazette on 8 June, according to WAJA. The bill must still go through three readings in parliament before becoming law. Repeal of the criminal libel law was a campaign promise of the new government, elected in December 2000. The former government used the law on several occasions to harass journalists, notes WAJA.
8 February 2000

WAJA PRESIDENT FACES POSSIBLE SEDITION CHARGES

On 3 February, Kabral Blay-Amihere, president of the West African Journalists Association (WAJA), executive member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and editor of "The Independent", was summoned to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police on possible charges of sedition, reports WAJA and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The investigation was related to an editorial that Blay-Amihere wrote and published in "The Independent" on 11 January about the military. The article urged the public to boycott "the traditional 31 December military parade, describing it as a relic from the days when the army controlled all state agencies and affairs in Ghana," says CPJ. WAJA reports that "under Ghana's Criminal Code of 1960, any person found guilty of sedition faces a minimum prison sentence of five years." Blay-Amihere was released after several hours of interrogation.

Alerts

Newspaper wins seven year old defamation case 3 March 2010 Opposition party sympathiser granted bail 22 February 2010 ARTICLE 19 recommends changes to proposed access to information law 8 February 2010 Newspaper reporter attacked 5 February 2010 Investigation launched into journalist mistreatment allegation 5 February 2010 "Daily Guide" newspaper wins defamation case 3 February 2010 Newspaper photojournalist detained, severely assaulted 29 January 2010 Ruling party supporters assault journalists 16 December 2009 Two reporters attacked while covering trial of police officers 23 November 2009 Police assault radio journalist and briefly detain him 12 November 2009 Cabinet approves Right to Information Bill 11 November 2009 Soccer fans attack radio commentator 10 November 2009 Two photojournalists assaulted 21 September 2009 Sports reporter assaulted by security guard 11 September 2009 Reporter assaulted by former president's security guard 25 August 2009 Radio presenter attacked by opposition party militants 17 August 2009 Journalist arrested, detained 10 August 2009 Two radio journalists attacked by Accra security personnel 15 July 2009 Two newspaper journalists arrested, released following six-hour detention 5 June 2009 Ruling party supporters vandalise radio station, attack employees 1 June 2009

Reports

SPEAKING OUT FOR FREE EXPRESSION 1987-2007 AND BEYOND: Ghana 8 January 2009 Freedom of the Press 2007: Ghana 27 February 2008
 
The International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) is a global network of 88 organisations working to defend and promote the right to free expression.
Permission is granted for material on this website to be reproduced or republished in whole or in part provided the source member and/or IFEX is cited with a link to the original item.