The Judicial Service’s counsel, Thaddeus Sory, argues that his latest letter to the Ghanaian media about coverage of the Election Petition case is not an effort to gag or censor the media, but rather to direct them.
He said that while media outlets who are confident they have not published any hateful materials against Supreme Court Justices should be unconcerned about the letter, those who have such materials should act on the letter and remove them.
Thaddeus Sory, speaking on Citi TV’s Point of View on Monday, said that eliminating such content is the most responsible thing a media company can do.“If I say that if you published hateful things, pull them down, shouldn’t any responsible institution do that?” he asked.
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He told Bernard Avle that the object of the letter sent to certain media outlets and made public is to warn them about publications that could jeopardize the proper administration of justice and harm the justice delivery system’s credibility, adding that there is no problem with publications that question Supreme Court Justices’ decisions in compliance with the law.
“Avoid hateful statements. Avoid statements that suggest that judges are not doing their work according to law. That is all that the letter states…. The statement admits that they [judges] should be criticized… but do not criticize them outside the rules of criticism,” he noted.
Last week, Thaddeus Sory, acting on the Judiciary Service’s orders, ordered media houses to “immediately pull down” from their platforms “statements and speeches which express, and/or insinuate hateful, spiteful, vengeful, incendiary communication against justices of the Supreme Court, especially those hearing the election petition.”
The step has caused widespread controversy, with many seeing it as an effort to suppress or censor the media.
The Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) condemned the statement at a press conference on Monday, calling it an effort by the judiciary to stifle press freedom in Ghana.
The GJA also requested that it be withdrawn immediately.
“If not reversed immediately, the ill-advised, ill-timed, ill-crafted, and ill-issued statement by the Judiciary Service can provoke a tsunamic backlash, lower the dignity of the court in the eyes of freedom lovers and critical citizens, pollute the media environment, undermine our impressive media rankings globally, and dim the beacon of our democracy,” the GJA indicated in a statement.
However, Thaddeus Sory, writing on behalf of the Judiciary, claimed that the letter respects press freedom, affirms the rule that free expression must be contained within legal limits, and accepts that such speech must promote legitimate aims and objectives.
He noted that the judiciary has no intention of gagging or censoring the media in the execution of its legal duties.
Source: ATLFMONLINE
