Document #1271247
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to Amnesty International, George
Naykene, editor of the Christian Chronicle, was arrested on 12
November 1991 by the military police and detained without charge or
trial under the terms of a preventive custody order (Amnesty
International Urgent Action 14 Feb. 1992). Naykene was also
chairperson of the Welfare Committee of the Ghana Journalists
Association (West Africa 9-15 Dec. 1991, 2066).
The editor was reportedly picked up by
security agents investigating a story in the Christian Chronicle
about a loan the People's Party administration of President Hilla
Limman received from an Italian business tycoon in order to
"rehabilitate" all 15 members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary
Council (AFRC), which had handed over power to the People's Party
(West Africa 16-22 Mar. 1992).
Naykene was found guilty of intentionally
libelling all members of the AFRC administration, which ruled Ghana
for three months in 1979 (West Africa 23-31 May 1992). After
a three-month trial, he was jailed for 18 months with hard labour
by an Accra circuit high court (Ibid.). For further
information on the trial of George Naykene, please refer to the
attachments from West Africa and the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC).
Additional and/or corroborative information
on the requested subject could not be found among the sources
currently available to the DIRB in Ottawa.
References
Amnesty International. 14 February
1992. Urgent Action. (AI Index: AFR 28/01/92). London:
Amnesty International.
West Africa [London]. 23-31 May
1992. "Editor Jailed."
. 16-22 March 1992. "Chronicle Editor's
Trial."
. 9-15 December 1991. "Editor's
Arrest."
Attachments
Amnesty International. 14 February 1992.
Urgent Action. (AI Index: AFR 28/01/92). London: Amnesty
International.
West Africa [London]. 23-31 May
1992. "Editor Jailed," p. 891.
. 20-26 April 1992. "Editor Opens His
Defence," p. 686.
. 23-29 March 1992. "Revelations at
Naykene's Trial," p. 514.
. 16-22 March 1992. "Chronicle Editor's
Trial," p. 474.
. 9-15 March 1992. "Boakye Djan Speaks
Out," p. 426.
. 6-12 January 1992. "Distressed
Journalists," p. 38.
. 9-15 December 1991. "Editor's Arrest,"
p. 2066.