MP to challenge arrest and prosecution of prostitutes

The Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Affenyo Markins, is incensed by the arrest and prosecution of 31 suspected prostitutes in Accra, and is gearing up to challenge the actions of the police and the subsequent decision of the court.

A police swoop last Sunday night on suspected prostitutes in Cantonments, Accra, resulted in the arrest and prosecution of 31 women and two men.?They were subsequently convicted by an Accra Magistrate Court and fined Ghc720 each with a bond to be of good behavior for six months.

Speaking to Ultimate Radio, Alexander Affenyo Markins, also a human rights lawyer, wondered what right and authority the Police had to arrest women who had gathered at one place in the night.

He told Ultimate Radio, “if you are charging someone for soliciting for immoral purposes to wit engaging in a sex trade, the persons must not just be walking on the streets and then be told you are here at this odd hour and the residents are complaining and so we are arresting you,”

Explaining further, the Effutu Legislator said such swoops and arrests had the tendency of undermining Rule of Law in the country as it was an infringement on the rights of the women.?

He vehemently disagrees with the ruling of the Court and has vowed to take up the matter and make sure justice is served the ladies.