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Journalists were barred because they entered court with cameras - Monney

Journalists were on Thursday prevented from covering the murder trial of a former Member of Parliament JB Danquah.

File photo

The Accra Central District Court judge, Arit Nsemoh was said to have ordered the journalists to stay out of the court room.

She said: "I don't want any journalist in my court room."

The judge’s outburst came right after the suspects; Daniel Asiedu and Vincent Bosso were ushered into the courtroom by police investigators.

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But speaking on Accra-based Class FM, the GJA president said his outfit spoke with the judge for her side of the story.

“We spoke to the judge and she gave her side of the story. Our decision to talk to her is predicated on the principle that every story has two sides.

“The side she gave was that she was caught unawares, she didn’t know that the journalists were entering the court room with cameras, and that was in violation of the rules governing court proceedings. So she asked the cameraman and the reporter to leave the courtroom with the camera.

“I then asked her whether the order for the journalists affected other media houses or journalists, especially those from the print, and she said ‘no’.

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“She said she couldn’t even identify the journalists and that all that she realised was that some cameramen were at the gate pointing fingers at her. She felt it was unethical and unlawful, so she exercised her powers and asked the police to ask them to vacate the premises. But she is not against journalists entering her courtroom to do what they are supposed to.”

He, however, indicated that the GJA would conduct further investigation into the matter.

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