Lawyer for Aisha Huang, Nkrabea Effah-Dartey, has bemoaned the difficulty he is facing in gaining access to his client who is facing trial with three other Chinese nationals.
The four Chinese nationals charged for engaging in illegal mining and engaging in the sale of minerals without a license were remanded into custody by the Accra Circuit Court 9 on September 14, 2022.
Reappearing in court on Tuesday, September 26, 2022, lawyers for the accused persons repeated their application for their clients to be granted bail.
Nkrabea Effah-Dartey, in arguing for the bail, noted the difficulty he is facing in gaining access to his clients who have been in the custody of the National Investigation Bureau.
“They are keeping the accused persons in total incommunicado. Going to BNI is like attacking a virgin’s home,” he stated.
He noted that the prosecution has no evidence to back the charges pressed against the accused persons and resorted to buying time with the continuous detention of the accused persons.
“Where is the evidence? Why should this take more than one month? The element of they being foreigners should weigh on your mind. Ghanaians are all over the world. I am pleading with you to admit them to court bail. We will satisfy the conditions,” he stated.
He urged the judge to grant his clients bail noting that the constitution clothes him with the discretionary power to do so.
“His Excellency the President, the Attorney General cannot say anything if you grant them bail. You can perfectly do that,” Mr Effah-Dartey said.
The request by the defence was opposed by the prosecution which was represented by Isaac Babayi.
“Fact is that these persons are charged, investigations show they entered this country illegally. That is enough to draw a conclusion that they have no fixed place of abode let alone gainfully employed.
“We invite you to avert your mind to the fact that in as much as they deserve justice, the laws of the land which have been desecrated also deserve justice. They are remanded as we continue with investigations,” the prosecution argued.
In a reasoning similar to his decision to refuse the accused persons bail during the previous sitting of the court, Justice Samuel Bright Acquah once again turned down the request by the defence counsel.
He cited the impact of illegal mining, saying, “this is an activity that is destroying our water bodies. Look at how it is destroying our forest. We the humans are complaining, the animals in the forest are suffering, it’s very sad. If we should allow this to go on, Ghana Water says they will soon shut down their machines.
“We will have to import water to drink? The courts and everyone must take a strong stance. Aisha Huang especially, how she entered the country. She can’t even tell. If I grant bail, and tomorrow the case is called, and she can’t be found. What happens? The motion for bail is refused,” the presiding judge added.
The judge ordered that the accused persons be taken back into custody and reappear on October 12, 2022.
GA/SEA
Nkrabea Effah-Dartey is lawyer for Aisha Huang