Police release Ghanaian-born US soldier allegedly assaulted at US Embassy

Police in Accra have released from custody, a Ghanaian born US soldier Raymond Senyo Amezado, who was allegedly assaulted at the US Embassy by security operatives there.

He was granted bail on Friday, February 12, after spending more than 24 hours in custody.

The security operatives marched Raymond to the Cantoments Police station on Thursday morning with blood all over his face. He was accussed of causing disorder at the embassy.

He was shuffled between the Cantoments Police Station, the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters and the Nima Police Station where he spent the night.

Raymond, who serves in the 518^th Sustainment Brigade of the US Army in North Carolina, USA sustained cuts on the forehead, legs, and lost lots of blood in the scuffle with personnel of the private security firm guarding the embassy, Intercom, and police personnel on duty there.

According to Senyo who has served in the US Army for about nine years and also holds a US citizenship, his only crime was to question the basis for which the embassy had refused visa to his brothers who work with a humanitarian Non Governmental Organisation he has established in Ghana.

He demanded a refund of monies paid as visa fees, but embassy officials asked him to leave the premises, which he refused.

Raymond told Joseph Opoku Gakpo in an interview: “I didn’t touch anybody, I was having a word with them, and then they had a bunch of men, both Americans and Ghanaians, beating the crap out of me.”

Raymond who is currently on leave and plans to return to the US next week insists the situation where people with legitimate reasons to travel to the America are refused visas is not right and somebody has to speak about it.

He says he will pursue the case of assault on him to its logical conclusion. “I will talk to my legal counsel and the American Embassy and I will take further action,” he said.

Raymond is expected to report back at the Cantoments Police Station on Monday as investigations continue.

When Joy news contacted the US Embassy for a comment on Thursday, Press Attache Officer Sarah Stealey said in a brief statement: "We can confirm there was an incident in consular session this morning. Local law enforcement responded and we thank them for their assistance. We refer you to local law enforcement for further information."

Sources at the Cantoments Police Station however dispute this version of the story from the embassy. The source told Joy News, none of its officers went to the embassy in response to the incident.

Rather, Raymond was sent to the police station in handcuffs by the embassy’s security team. He was then referred to the Police Hospital for treatment, after which he was brought back to the Cantoments Police Station.