Investigations into Death of 55-year-Old Inmate Should be Made Public – Amnesty International
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The Director of Amnesty International Ghana, Robert Akoto Amoafo, has requested that authorities release investigation results into the death of 55-year-old Boazor Bawoleyen.
Speaking to Joy News, the Director stated that “it is important for everyone to know about the investigation so that the authorities can take action to prevent such unfortunate incidents from repeating itself.”
Bawoleyen, who died in a police cell, was undergoing trial and was remanded by a Mampongteng court.
The family of the deceased claim he was beaten and locked up after his arrest by a combined team of a local watchdog team and police.
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Authorities say Bawoleyen was detained for engaging in drug peddling when the incident occurred.
A spokesperson for the family, Yusif Issah, said the Tafo hospital where Bawoleyen reportedly died is refusing to hand over documents surrounding his death.
“We need to know what happened so that the justice system and public can contribute and monitor the progress of the police’s decision regarding the situation,” Amoafo said.
He said that once information like these are kept secret, there will be little improvement because there may not be any checks on the activities of the police to know whether the problem is being solved.
He added that if the results from the investigation is made known, it will be easier to learn from such a mistake and put some rules in place.
Amoafo expressed concern about the current state of the police and prisions, which he says contributes to many of these unfortunate situations.
He said some of the police cells were built in the colonial era and have not been renovated since.
“Some of our police cells are very small but they house huge numbers of inmates some were built to hold a few numbers of people but the cells lately are so crammed it has adverse effects on its occupants,” he explained.
Amoafo stated that the cells are usually crammed because some of the inmates have been imprisoned for long periods of time due to inability to obtain bail.
By: Myjoyonline.com
