Environmental activists have petitioned the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, as well as the Inspector General of Police, to provide information on the number of foreign nationals arrested in Ghana for illegal mining, as well as their nationalities.
Concerns were expressed in the petition by the Ghana Environmental Advocacy Group and A Rocha Ghana about reports by The Fourth Estate that only two of hundreds of Chinese nationals arrested for illegal mining from 2012 to date remain in Ghanaian jails.
“It is both unconscionable and irresponsible to read that those arrested are quietly deported to their home countries with their loot with no further consequences while the state and local communities are left to reel under the weight of the environmental degradation they leave behind,” the petition stated.
These concerns stem from Aisha Huang’s re-arrest, despite her deportation in 2019 for engaging in illegal mining in Ghana.
According to reports, Aisha entered Ghana from a neighboring country via a land border.
She also obtained a Ghana card in February 2022 under the name Huang En upon her arrival.
Also read: Aisha Huang re-arrested in Ghana for illegal mining
Find below the full demands in the petition:
a. Share with Ghanaians the number of foreign nationals arrested for engaging in
illegal mining in Ghana and their nationalities.
b. Number of those arrested that are currently in jail
c. Number of those who have been released and for what reason (s)
d. Number of those deported and under what conditions
e. The number of such deportees who have returned and
f. Measures have been put in place to ensure that new people do not come to engage in illegal mining in Ghana.
Source: Cititv
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