Crime & Punishment of Saturday, 27 January 2024

Source: YoHRA

YoHRA denounces Ghana High Court's death penalty sentence on coup plotters

Youth for Human Rights Africa Youth for Human Rights Africa

In a strong denouncement of recent events, Youth for Human Rights Africa (YoHRA), a prominent human rights advocacy group, has issued a press release expressing profound disapproval of Ghana's decision to impose the death penalty on six individuals accused of plotting a coup against the government.

The condemnation stems from YoHRA's belief that such a severe and irreversible punishment violates the inherent human right to life, a principle enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The organization is calling for an immediate reassessment of Ghana's position on the death penalty, urging the government to adopt more humane and progressive sentencing measures.

The press release emphasizes that Ghana's adherence to the death penalty contradicts the global movement towards its abolition, placing the nation at odds with international human rights standards.

YoHRA asserts that the imposition of such punitive measures goes against the principles of human dignity and fundamental rights, underscoring the need for a unified global stance against the use of capital punishment.

The organization calls on the international community and civil society organizations to join forces in condemning the death penalty in Ghana and advocating for its complete removal from the country's penal codes.

Read the full statement below

Youth for Human Rights Africa (YoHRA) Denounces Ghana High Court's Death
Penalty Sentence on Coup plotters.

Youth for Human Rights Africa (YoHRA) unequivocally condemns Ghana's recent death sentence imposed on six individuals accused of plotting a coup against the government.

YoHRA deems this decision a blatant violation of their inherent human right to life.

Ghana's persistence in employing the death penalty starkly contradicts the global movement towards abolishing capital punishment. YoHRA asserts that resorting to such a severe and irreversible punishment contradicts the principles of human dignity and the right to life, as outlined in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We demand the government reassess its position on the death penalty and advocate
for the implementation of humane and progressive sentencing measures that
unequivocally reject the use of capital punishment. Given Ghana's commitment as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there is an imperative obligation to uphold its principles.

YoHRA urges the international community, as well as all civil society organizations (CSOs), to collectively condemn the use of the death penalty in this case and work together to completely remove capital punishment from penal codes of Ghana.