Lawyer Justin Pwavra Teriwajah has refuted reports that the lead counsel for the Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, in the ongoing criminal case against him by the state, Tsatsu Tsikata, threatened the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Dame, with jail time.

According to Teriwajah, who is the junior counsel for Gyakye Quayson, the statement made by Tsatsu Tsikata has been completely misconstrued to mean that he was threatening the attorney general with jail time in the event that the ruling New Patriotic Party leaves power.

In a letter to GhanaWeb, the lawyer further explained that Tsatsu Tsikata was only making the point that a fair trial would not only be to the benefit of Quayson but to all who find themselves in a similar position.

“Senior counsel, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, never ‘threaten[ed] Dame with jail in future’… Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata did not insinuate and threaten "the current Attorney-General that he would be prosecuted in the same measure in the future, in the event that power changes hands at the polls during the 2024 elections or in sometime in the future."

“Mr. Tsikata stated that he did not wish what happened to him to happen to anyone else. He indicated that the submission he was making about the importance of the constitutional right to a fair trial was not just for the accused person but was also for the benefit of those taking positions against the accused if, at any future date, they found themselves in the position the accused was in."

Lawyer Teriwajah reiterated that Tsatsu Tsikata never made reference to "people like Godfred Dame and other officials of the NPP” as the people who would be prosecuted in the future in the supposed threat he made.

BAI/NOQ

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