Scores of angry National Democratic Congress supporters have besieged the party’s head quarters in Accra demanding a release of the host and two panelists of political program on Montie FM.
Swearing, chanting and cursing the supporters want the NDC executives to act by appealing to the president to invoke his powers of clemency to free Salifu Maase, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako-Gunn all of whom have begun serving time in jail for contemptuous comments they made against Supreme Court judges.
The three were on Wednesday sentenced to a four month jail term and a fine of 10,000 cedis each for threatening to kill judges who sat on a case involving the Electoral Commission and PNC youth organiser Abu Ramadan.
The directors and owners of the station were also fined 30,000 cedis each for same and were to pay it by close of day today or risk going into jail.
The NDC in a statement vehemently condemned the sentences describing it as harsh and an assault on free speech.
One of the lawyers of the contemnors George Loh told Joy News “speech cannot be criminalised.”
He said no matter how irresponsible the contemptuous comments were, the judges went overboard by giving custodial sentences to the contemnors.
“The sentence was too harsh…our brothers were severely punished,” he pointed out.
The NDC lawyers have therefore petitioned the president to invoke Article 72, his executive power, by giving clemency to the three convicts.
“The president must intervene,” he told Joy News in an interview, Thursday.
Buoyed by the position of the party and the actions and comments by the NDC lawyers, tens of angry youth stormed the party’s headquarters demanding the release of the host Salifu Maase popularly known as Mugabe.
“We are working for Mahama. We will not sit down for Mugabe to be in prison. We want Mugabe back, if not what we will do here, they will not find it easy,” one of them said.
They hissed, puffed and chanted in songs and curses demanding the release of their heroes who dared to take the lives of judges.
Meanwhile, some lawyers say any attempt by the president to pardon the Montie 3, will not only be an attack on the judiciary but will be a political suicide for the governing party.
Yaw Oppong, a Law Lecturer with the Central Univerity said for many floating voters who vote on principles and on issues, any attempt by the president to free the three contemnors will have implications to the party at the polls.
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