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Gov’t cannot choose lawyers for Aisha Huang’s accomplices – Abu Jinapor

Source The Ghana Report

As much as the government controls happenings in the country, it simply cannot decide on the legal representation of Aisha Huang’s accomplices, the Lands Minister has said.

Like many others, the sector minister Samuel Abu Jinapor has mixed feelings about the former NPP National Chairman Freddie Blay’s decision to represent Aisha Huang’s accomplices.

“Government, and for that matter myself, do not have control over decisions made by private legal practitioners. We cannot make a determination as to what case the lawyer accepts or does not accept.

“Secondly, at the heart of our criminal justice system and our constitutional system is the right to fair trial and right to representation. We cannot decide on what kind of representation an accused person gets. This is out of the hands of the government.

“What I am interested in is that the Attorney General prosecutes this matter fully and in a very spirited manner,” he said in a Joy News interview monitored by theghanareport.com.

Asked if he was concerned that a former NPP Chairman was defending the Chinese Galamsey Queen’s accomplices, Mr. Jinapor said the politics of the matter is an entirely different situation.

“You are asking me about the politics of it, but that’s a different matter. As I said, what I am interested in is that regardless of who is representing these persons, the Attorney General should prosecute them in a very spirited manner,” he stressed.

Who are the accused persons Freddie Blay will be defending

The accused persons are Chinese nationals; Shi Yang, also known as Philip, Li Wei Guo and Shi Mei Zhi and Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, a Vietnamese national.

The first three have been charged with engaging in illegal small scale-mining, that is, mining without a licence, contrary to section 99(2)(a) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) as amended by Act 995 of 2019.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, the Vietnamese national, has been charged with the offence of remaining in Ghana after the expiration of a permit, contrary to sections 20(1) and 52(1)(d) of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).

The three Chinese nationals pleaded not guilty to the charges.

However, the last accused’s plea was deferred to the next court sitting due to the unavailability of a Vietnamese translator.

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