Ghana drops charges against 5 who were beaten and then arrested

A circuit court in Ghana has dropped charges against five LGBTQ people who were attacked by a homophobic mob on Oct. 19, 2021.  After the assault, the five were taken to the police station, where they were charged with “unnatural carnal knowledge”.

Map of Ghana shows Tamale in the country’s Northern Region. (Map courtesy of Encyclopaedia Brittanica via the Embassy of Ghana)

The LGBTQ+ advocacy group Rightify Ghana reported today:

The prosecutor found no evidence against them, so the Attorney General advised the court in Tamale, in northern Ghana, that the case against the five, including one woman, should be discharged.

The woman was pregnant at the time of her arrest, but she lost the baby during her detention.

After the arrest, they were detained for two weeks until their lawyer, Issah Mahmud, the director of Ghana Legal Aid in the Northern Region, secured bail for them.

They have been appearing in court multiple times and once were accompanied by Rightify Ghana.

One other person lost their job because of the arrest. Their empoloyer sacked them in a letter that described them as engaging in “disgusting”, “shameful” and “animalism behaviour.”

Rightify Ghana also reported on the case last November:

Mob attacks LGBTQ Ghanaians; police arrest them

Earlier today (Nov. 4), a court granted bail to 5 LGBTQ+ persons who were arrested on October 19, and charged with “unnatural carnal knowledge”. They were remanded for two weeks and have been released today on bail. They are to reappear before the court on November 24.

Sorry we can’t add the location. However, in this particular case, none of the accused were caught committing that offense. A mob attacked an initial two, got one to mention names of the other 3. They beat them, took them to a Chief’s Palace to be fined, … also took them to the police station. [who] hurriedly sent them to court the next day.

[Name withheld] has been closely following the case and had to flee to avoid getting arrested when the police saw him trying to help get them freed. They were monitoring him, so he fled the city.