The ECOWAS Court of Justice has declared the detention of 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) by the Government of Ghana as unlawful and a violation of their fundamental human rights.
In its judgment on Suit No: ECW/CCJ/APP/12/24, the regional court ruled that the applicants’ arrests on May 8, 2019, and their prolonged detention, some extending over a year, breached both Ghana’s constitutional provisions and international human rights standards.
The individuals were arrested under the 1976 Prohibited Organisations Decree for alleged involvement with the HSGF, a group campaigning for the independence of Western Togoland.
Presided over by Justice Ricardo Gonçalves, with Justices Sengu M. Koroma and Dupe Atoki, the three-member panel held that Ghana’s failure to present the detainees in court within 48 hours violated Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Although the court acknowledged Ghana’s national security concerns, it emphasised that procedural safeguards must be respected.
The court struck out the HSGF as a claimant for lacking legal personality due to its unregistered status, but upheld the admissibility of the 30 individuals’ claims.
It also dismissed the applicants' plea for the right to self-determination, ruling that neither the HSGF nor the individuals were legally empowered to make such a claim.
Each applicant was awarded the equivalent of $2,500 in local currency as compensation for the unlawful detention.
The court further ordered the Ghanaian government to either prosecute them within two weeks or release them unconditionally.
All other claims were dismissed, and both parties were directed to bear their own legal costs.
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