The Ghana Journalist Association has described as scandalous a directive issued by lawyers of the Judicial Service asking media houses to pull down statements and speeches containing hateful and inciting communication against the judiciary.

Lawyers of the Judiciary Service in a letter to media houses last week said their action was been necessitated by “the publication and/or permitting the publication of a series of incendiary, hateful and offensive statements, and speeches on their various platforms against” Justices hearing the ongoing presidential election petition.

According to the letter issued by legal representatives of the Judicial Service, Sory@Law, their concern “has been heightened by the flurry of statements and speeches directed at our client’s Justices, especially after the commencement of hearing of the election petition in the suit intituled John Dramani Mahama v Electoral Commission & Nana Addo.”

The lawyers further directed that media houses cease the publication and cause the deletion of “statements and speeches which convey, and/or insinuate hateful, spiteful, vengeful, incendiary communication against justices of the Supreme Court, especially those hearing the ongoing election petition” or risk what they called “appropriate action.”

But reacting to the order at a press conference addressed by its President, Roland Affail Monney on Monday, March 1, 2021, the GJA said the directive is pregnant with insidious threats to the media freedom enjoyed in Ghana, which it deems obnoxious.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the media. The GJA is, to put it mildly, dumbstruck in reading this obnoxious directive pregnant with insidious threats to the media freedom in Ghana which is touted as a land of freedom and justice. With all due respect, this is scandalous,” portions of the statement read.

Read the GJAs statement below: