Attorney General wants Gitmo case dismissed

Europa 00:04 - 05 April 2016

Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef fought for Osama Bin Laden

The plaintiffs, Margaret Banful and Henry Nana Boakye argued that the president breached the law by accepting the two former terror suspects under a controversial agreement signed between Ghana and the US.

The Supreme Court is being asked to throw out a case in which two Ghanaians are asking the court to declare as unconstitutional President John Mahamas decision to allow two terror suspects from Guantanamo Bay into Ghana.

The Deputy Attorney General, Dominic Ayine, who is asking for the case to be dismissed has argued that the case has no foundation in law.

According to him, the plaintiffs have come to the court with "dubious" hearsay evidence and must not be entertained in the highest court of the land.

The plaintiffs also said the agreement should have gone to parliament for ratification, but the deputy Attorney General believes otherwise.

He said the agreement under which the two terror suspects came to Ghana does not fall within the remit of international transaction or treaties.

“There exists an agreement between the two governments which was reached by exchange of confidential diplomatic notes otherwise known as Not Verbales,” Dominic Ayine stated in his claim.

He further argued that the documents being used by the plaintiffs were fake and not official.

The two ex-detainees: Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, arrived in Ghana on Thursday January 7, 2016 for a two-year stay as part of a deal reached between the United States of America and the Government of Ghana.

There were fears by some Ghanaians including religious bodies and security analysts that the presence of the two could pose a risk to the country's security.