The Chronicle splashes on its front page a report on torture of victims by the Castle. Under a screaming headline: The dark side of the Presidential Home… Castle Torture Chamber Victims Cry For Help”, the Chronicle says four years after arbitrary detentions, torturing and disappearance of suspects which had been the hallmark of the PNDC era for eleven years, the security apparatus has not weaned itself of its brutal tactics under the Fourth Republican constitutional dispensation. The paper says on July 6, combat-ready soldiers from the Castle, stung by the alleged disappearance of a video deck, a tape recorder and a remote control handset from the residence of Warrant Officer Class One (WO 1), Andrew Tetteh, President Rawlings’ bodyguard, besieged Sowotuom, a suburb of Accra, arbitrary arrested 17 youngmen and detained them at the Castle guard-room without trial or charge. According to the Chronicle the suspects managed to smuggled a letter to the paper detailing the horrors they went through at the Castle. The paper says its reporter managed to visit the suspects and later conducted independent investigations to verify the story. It says some of the horrifying aspects told to the reporter are so repulsive they have been excluded from this report. The Chronicle says the suspects story was that cutlass was used to beat them on their backs and soup was poured on the floor for them to lick, among other ill-treatment GRI
“Ashanti Leads the AIDS League”, is another catchy headline on the front page of the Chronicle. The accompanying story says the Ashanti Region leads the reported cases of the dreaded Acuired Immune Deficiency Sydrome (AIDS) in Ghana with 6,453 recorded cases. The story says the Ashanti Region is followed by the Eastern Region with 4,184 cases. According to the 1966 cumulative figures, Greater Accra is fourth with 3,309 cases while Central Region takes the sixth position with 1,421 cases. Miss Stella Dudo, Central Regional AIDS coordinator told a seminar on “Reproductive Health Issues”, says the Chronicle. GRI
The Chronicle reports on its back page that following reported concerns expressed by some African diplomatic missions to the government, 14 out of the 17 deportees from four European countries languishing at the Osu Police cells, have been repatriated. Under the heading: “Ghana repatriates African deportees from Europe”, the Chronicle says the 17 were deported from Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden on charges of illegal entry and non-possession of requisite immigration documents. According to the paper an informal agreement between the European countries and Ghana allows all immigrants believed to be Africans to be dumped in Ghana for the establishment of their citizenship and onward repatriation to their countries of origin. GRI
