The criminal jurisdiction of the High Court in Accra has officially acquitted and discharged Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a social activist who was standing trial for treason.
Mr Baker-Vormawor was charged with treason felony in 2022 when he was picked up by National Security operatives for threatening a coup if Parliament went ahead to pass the then-controversial E-Levy bill which was subsequently passed into law.
His detention and the charges leveled against him sparked widespread public debate and condemnation from civil society groups, amidst concerns over free speech in Ghana.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor who lost his Cambridge scholarship as a result of the treason trial, becomes the latest accused person to enjoy the selective amnesty by the new Attorney General who has decided to discontinue some high-profile court cases initiated by the previous administration.
In a two-year legal proceedings that barely took off in the courtroom largely because the Prosecution failed to provide evidence apart from the accused person’s social media post, Mr Vormawor who was declared a flight risk was facing either the death penalty or life imprisonment if he had been convicted.
The decision by the Attorney General to discontinue Mr Barker-Vormawor’s trial, adds to a growing list of high-profile cases in which the new Attorney General has filed nolle prosequi since assuming office.
Neither the accused person nor his lawyers were present in court when the case was called on Tuesday morning, March 18.
On her part, principal state Attorney Esi Dentaa Yankah who was present in court, introduced the Prosecution’s team to kick-start proceedings.
In a rather brief proceedings, the trial judge Justice Mary Ekua Yanzu acknowledged that a Nolle prosequi had been filed by the Attorney General, and subsequently declared that “the charges have been struck out and the accused person has been discharged”.
Mr Barker-Vormawor has since been on social media acknowledging individuals who supported him throughout the proceedings.
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