Government says it will not tolerate any abuse of Ghanaians deported by the United States government.

Deputy Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah at a press briefing on Tuesday expressed government’s displeasure at the ill treatment Ghanaian deportees suffer in the hands of the US government.

“Government has taken note of these concerns and we wish to announce to the Ghanaian people that government has indicated strongly to the United States government our abhorrence for such inhumane treatment.”

“We have expressed to the United States government that the government and the people of Ghana will no longer countenance such acts from the United States government. We wish to assure the Ghanaian people that the government will act at all times to protect the rights and the dignity of Ghanaians everywhere.’’

Last year in a meeting with a parliament select committee, the US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P Jackson confirmed that “7,000 Ghanaians who have overstayed their visas or are staying in the US illegally are in various stages of the deportation processes."

“There will be additional deportations because the 7,000 people who are under deportation orders have either committed crimes in the United States or long overstayed the visas on which they entered,” Mr Jackson said.

The deportees were deported for various offences, ranging from drug possession, larceny, assault, theft, sexual assault, identity theft, illegal entry, forgery/fraud, resisting arrest and other non-criminal offences.