The Supreme Court has ordered the release of the agreement between the Ghanaian government and the United States government which allowed two ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees to be relocated into the country.
The Court, on Thursday, directed that the documents be made available to only the lawyers of the two Ghanaian citizens, Margaret Bamful and Henry Nana Boakye who sued the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, together with the Minister of Interior, accusing President John Mahama of illegally bringing in the two former detainees, without recourse to the laws of the land.
The Court after scrutinising the documents decided that the release of the documents to the lawyers will not pose a security threat to the nation.
The Attorney General unsuccessfully argued that the agreement was confidential and any disclosure to the public would violate section 1 of the State Secrets ACT, 1962 (Act 101).
Background
The two former detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby were in detention for 14 years for having links with terrorist group Al-Qaeda before their relocation to Ghana.
In January 2016, the US Embassy in Ghana assured said the presence of the duo posed no security threat to national security.
But Margaret Bamful and Henry Nana Boakye, believed the two former Gitmo detainees were illegally brought into the country wthout recourse to the laws of the land.
The plaintiffs therefore sought among other reliefs a “declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of the Republic of Ghana acted unconstitutionally by agreeing to the transfer of Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby.” |
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