The Editor of news portal Modern Ghana Emmanuel Ajarfor has sued the National Security Coordinator, Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General alleging the abuse of his human right during his recent arrest and interrogation by the police.
Mr Adjarfor was arrested late last month from his office together with one of his reporters Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum over an opinion article published by his portal.
He later told the Media that he had been tortured in the cause of the interrogation.
The arrest coupled with the allegations of torture caused a public uproar as it reignited the debate on brutalities against journalists in the line of duty.
The suit has been filed at the Human Right Division of the High Court.
Lawyer for the news editor said Mr Ajarfor’s right to personal liberty, a fair trial and human dignity have been violated by the conduct of the officials of the National Security.
The suit is also seeking the court to order the Attorney General to prosecute the officers who tortured Mr Ajarfor and to release all seized items back to him.
He is also demanding compensation for the torture he went through.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, one of the lawyers for Mr Ajarfor, Samson Lardy Anyenini said: “in due course, a process will be covered in respect of a civil process against the perpetrators of the illegal and unconstitutional and criminal conduct.”
Emmanuel Ajarfor, the Modern Ghana editor, was detained alongside a fellow journalist, Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum.
The two met with police on Tuesday in the company of their lawyers.
The case has been shrouded in controversy after suggestions that the arrest of the two journalists was tied to the publication of an article that criticized the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah.
Mr. Ajarfor later claimed he was tortured and his privacy violated while in National Security custody.
The National Security Council Secretariat has denied the torture claims and also intends to study the medical reports.
The secretariat in a statement said Mr. Ajarfor, “was never manhandled, neither was he subjected to any form of forced physical contact.”
But the claims of the two journalists have received public support with the Ghana Journalists Association calling for an independent probe of the torture allegations made against the National Security.
GJA demands independent probe into Modern Ghana journalist’s torture claims
The President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Affail Monney earlier called for an independent probe of the torture allegations made against the National Security by the editor of news website Modern Ghana.
He added that “we believe that the time has come to move it to a new level by instituting an independent investigation into what happened to the two journalists.”
The association also has a team of lawyers “studying the situation” and Mr. Monney said they have requested for medical reports from the two journalists to possibly verify their claims.
