Supreme Court orders Ghana government to produce agreement on Gitmo two

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to produce any agreement on the two former Guantanamo Bay detainees that have been resettled in Ghana.

But the Acting Solicitor General, Mrs Helen Ziwu, told the Court that there was no formal agreement between Ghana and the United States prior to the arrival of the two in the country.

She said the only form of agreement was a “Note Verbale”, which is a diplomatic communication between the two countries.

Mrs Ziwu told the Court after lawyers for the two plaintiffs, who were in court over the hosting of the two former detainees, filed an interlocutory application asking the Government to produce the agreement, which brought the two men into the country.

The five-member panel, chaired by Justice William Atuguba, ruling on the application ordered the AG to produce the agreement in camera at the next adjourned date

The plaintiffs are seeking 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.”

They are also seeking that the reception of the said detainees into the country by the President is in excess of his powers under the constitution and hence unconstitutional.

The case has been adjourned to July 6.

Source: GNA