Minister confirms execution of 4 Ghanaians in Libya

Page 50, Feb 21, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD, Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei, on Tuesday confirmed the execution of four Ghanaians in Libya.
Two of them, who were convicted and sentenced to death in 1998 and 2002 for the murder of a Libyan and a Senegalese, respectively, were executed last Saturday, February 16, 2008.
According to the minister, earlier on January 22, 2008, two other Ghanaians had been executed for their involvement in the murder of the Libyan in question.
Mr Osei-Adjei stated that although efforts were made by the government to secure a reprieve for the four Ghanaians, “these proved unsuccessful”.
In a statement to Parliament, he explained that three of the executed Ghanaians, together with a Nigerian, were tried in a Libyan Criminal Court and found guilty on May 17, 1998.
They were alleged to have tied up the Libyan in his workshop and bludgeoned him to death because of a dispute over a transaction in drugs.
He said although the convicts appealed against the verdict in July, their appeal was dismissed, adding that the Ghanaian Embassy in Libya took a keen interest in the case and arranged for their defence during the trial and appeal.
Mr Osei-Adjei further explained that although the embassy subsequently made contact with the family of the deceased Libyan, in accordance with Islamic practice, to explore the possibility of seeking clemency or payment of compensation to cancel the death sentence, the family insisted that the law should take its course.
The Foreign Minister said President Kufuor had managed, on two occasions, to secure a stay of execution when the Ghanaians were scheduled for execution, saying that delayed action for five years.
He added that during that period, officials of the Ghanaian Embassy in Libya resumed contacts with the family of the Libyan victim in an effort to get it to reconsider its stance on the execution but to no avail.
Mr Osei-Adjei said in June 2007 when President Kufuor visited Libya, he raised the plight of the executed Ghanaians with the Libyan Leader, who promised to look into the matter.
He said when the embassy was notified on January 20, 2008 that two of the three Ghanaians were scheduled for execution on January 22, 2008, it made representations to the Libyan authorities for a further stay of execution to allow time for consultations with the Government of Ghana.
Mr Osei-Adjei said without responding to the embassy’s request, the Libyan authorities proceeded to execute the two by firing squad.
He said in the second case, a Ghanaian and a Gambian were tried and convicted for the murder of a Senegalese, explaining that the Ghanaian Embassy in Libya made a representation to the Senegalese Embassy in Libya to seek clemency from the family of the deceased.
Mr Osei-Adjei said even though the Embassy of Senegal was unable to locate the family of the deceased Senegalese, it took it upon itself to offer clemency to the Ghanaian.
That decision, according to the minister, was conveyed to the Libyan authorities but regrettably they failed to take that into consideration and went ahead to carry out the executions last Saturday, which included the third person from the previous case.
He said the bodies of the four Ghanaians had since been deposited at a mortuary in the Benghazi Central Hospital for autopsy, while the ministry was in the process of informing their families.
“While the Government of Ghana does not seek to undermine the laws of Libya, it would have wished that the authorities of that country would have prevailed more strongly on the family of the victim to reconsider its position on the executions, on humanitarian grounds,” he stated.
He informed the House that one more Ghanaian remained on death roll in Libya for the murder of another Ghanaian and said that the ministry was exploring the options available in that case.
Mr Osei-Adjei said that further information from the Ghanaian Embassy in Libya revealed that as of the middle of 2007, there were over 200 Ghanaians in Libyan prisons for various crimes, including the possession of drugs, distillation of alcohol, prostitution, among others, adding that about 100 of them had since benefited from amnesty and returned to Ghana.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to protect the interests of its citizens abroad but reminded Ghanaians abroad that it was their obligation to respect the laws of their host countries and to conduct themselves properly and in ways that would make them worthy ambassadors of Ghana.