Community members are outraged after 21 gay rights activists were arrested by law enforcement agents at a conference last month in Ghana.
Supporters of the activists, who have been denied bail twice by the courts, are bringing awareness to the intolerance and violence that persists toward the gay community in the African county.
As the detained activists fight for their freedom, here are five things you need to know:
LGBT+ Rights Ghana, a community center in Accra, was raided and has been shuttered ever since.
In February, the Ghanaian gay rights center was raided by security forces, according to CNN. From the conception of the gay rights hub, Alex Kofi Donkor, who leads the community center, said that it was met with opposition from locals.
Following the raid, Donkor told CNN that he feared for the safety of his family and those that worked at the center, which opened on January 31.
"I just contacted our lawyers, there is an unsafe situation right now, and I need to go offline," he said.
A woman executive of the organization was also arrested in the recent police clampdown of the LGBTQ+ community, Donkor said.
The activists were arrested for unlawful assembly and accused of advocating gay acts.
As Blavity previously reported, the group of activists was arrested at a hotel in Ho City during a summit focusing on paralegal training for gay activists. Ghanaian police issued a statement accusing them of spreading propaganda on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community with documents that included titles like "Coming out" and "All about Trans.”
Sergeant Prince Dogbatse, a police spokesman, told CNN last month that while Ghana's laws protect the right to freedom of expression and assembly, unlawful assembly is not protected.
"There is freedom of expression and all that, but our criminal offenses act prohibits unlawful assembly," Dogbatse said."We have arrested these persons and preferred the charge of unlawful assembly against them. So we will allow the court to make a determination on the matter."
Local media turned against the activists in their fight for justice.
Donkor detailed that two hours into the conference, the venue was overrun by uninvited journalists.
"The event started at 9 am on Thursday with about 25 persons in attendance. Two hours later, some journalists invaded the space and started taking photos and videos," he said.
Following the invasion of media, Donkor said police arrived “almost immediately and arrested most of the attendees. They also took away banners and flip charts that were used during the training session."
Ghana’s LGTBQ community came together in unity of #ReleaseThe21.
Earlier this month, activists organized an online campaign under the hashtag #ReleaseThe21. The campaign has since gone viral on social media, and people have rallied to demand the immediate release of the detainees.
Do you know 21 LGBT activists were arrested two weeks ago in Ho for unlawful gathering and they’ve been denied bail? We’ve tried all we can but to know avail. #ReleaseThe21
pic.twitter.com/sppfPcbnX1— Homophobic stinks in Ghana (@ningo_nyobi1) June 7, 2021
Donkor suggested that the homophobia that runs rampant in many African countries played a role in the detainment of the activists.
"The sexual orientation of an individual could lead to his or her lynching in some Ghananian neighborhoods," he said, “Sometimes, the police even turn around and arrest an individual who has come to report issues of abuse while ignoring the perpetrator."
The 21 activists were denied bail twice.
Julia Selman Ayetey, an attorney for the group of gay rights activists, shared that they were denied bail in court this month without going into further details. The activists were already denied bail at the Ho High Court before going to the circuit court.
Last month, the LGBTQ+ consortium of Ghana established a $10,000 GoFundMe campaign to help support the release of the arrested individuals, as Blavity previously reported.
