#OccupyJulorbiHouse: How American, German news outlets covered protests

#OccupyJulorbiHouse protests topped the trends on Twitter (now X) following the illegal arrest and manhandling of peaceful protesters marching to the seat of government, Jubilee House, on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

One of the major features of the protest was the tagging of musicians to lend their voices to the illegal arrests and the rights to protest. Over 20 artistes at last count had tweeted their express support for the protests.

Another group that were severally tagged were international news outlets – especially the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera.

Even though none of these channels had run the story at the time of filing this report, a US hip-hop and viral news outlet, Daily Loud, became the first international outlet to share the plight of protesters.

They shared a Metro TV video in which news caster Bridget Otoo is narrating how she and others were forcibly roughed up by police at the premises of the Accra Regional Command.

Otoo, said she had approached some officer at the gate to ask the whereabout of an athlete who was mistakenly picked by the police during the illegal arrests. She added, that unprovoked the police harassed her and a number of protesters seeking answers in the process ripping her top.

The tweet was captioned thus: “Police in Ghana are arresting and attacking protestors. One woman says the police ripped her dress. The protests stem from the cost of living and the economic crisis gripping the country. Even journalists covering the protests were among those arrested.”

DW Africa also shared a post of the protest with a caption that read: "Several protesters have been arrested in Ghana during a demonstration in the capital Accra, according to local reports.

"A number of journalists who were covering the protest were reportedly manhandled and arrested.

"The anti-government demonstrators traveled to Jubilee House, Ghana’s seat of government, for the #OccupyJulorBiHouse gathering on Thursday — Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day honoring Ghana’s first president.

The organizers had notified the police ahead of the protest and refused to call if off when the police ordered them not to go ahead. The protesters are calling on the president and members of the Ghana's Economic Management Team to #FixTheCountry amid alleged economic mismanagement and corruption."

Police in Ghana are arresting and attacking protestors. One woman says the police ripped her dress.

The protests stem from the cost of living and the economic crisis gripping the country. Even journalists covering the protests were among those arrested.pic.twitter.com/ZngRKGDkQP

— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) September 21, 2023

Background: The #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests:

On Day 1 (September 21) of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests by the Democracy Hub, a group of young activists; police illegally rounded up 49 protesters who were marching to demand action on prevailing economic crisis and corruption.

The illegal arrests, especially how they were conducted by the police triggered harsh criticism of impeding the constitutional right to protest and deploying highhandedness on the part of police.

Police sent the detainees to the regional headquarters before splitting them up to about eight police stations dotted across the capital, even as colleague protesters and lawyers worked to secure bail for the illegally detained persons.

In this process, other journalists and protesters who massed up especially at the Accra Regional Command encountered some amount of police violence including shoving, forced detention, seizure of phone and in the case of other physical assault.

In their first of two statements on the day, police said the illegal arrests were justified because protesters were defying a court injunction served on them, which process they denied had been properly served.

The second statement addressed the purported arrest of a BBC journalist and his cameraman, which reportage they dismissed as untrue.

By the close of day, almost all illegally detained protesters per GhanaWeb checks had been released from illegal detention on bail, it remains to be seen whether Day Two of the three-day protest targeting the seat of government, the Jubilee House, will come off today (September 22, 2023).

SARA

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