Lawyers for Montie 3 to petition Mahama over verdict

Lawyers for the host of Montie FM's 'Pampaso' political show, Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, and two panelists, Alistair Nelson, and Godwin Ako Gunn who were handed a four-month prison sentence say they will petition President Mahama over their clients' custodial sentence.

The three were sentenced on Wednesday by the Supreme Court for threatening the lives of judges on a live radio show.

The lawyers, George Loh and Nana Ato Dadzie in a statement said though they admit comments made by their clients were “unacceptable”, they consider the sentence harsh and excessive.

“We do admit some of the statements uttered by some of our clients are unacceptable. We nevertheless consider custodial sentence of four months imposed by the Supreme Court as being excessive and harsh.”

“We also do not believe that citizens of Ghana ought to be committed to prison for infractions on free expression especially in light of the repeal of the criminal libel law. Our clients have directed us in circumstances to petition His Excellency the President of the Republic to exercise his powers of perogative of mercy under Article 72 of the Constitution of Ghana.”

Reactions 
The sentence has been met with mixed reactions from various stakeholders.While some believe it was a step in the right direction, others say the Judges were to harsh on the trio.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in a statement released on Tuesday said the judgement “sends an unfortunate impression about Ghana, its judiciary and severely dents our enviable reputation as a beacon of democracy on the African continent and beyond.” It further stated that the “judgement also may undermine our position among countries with the freest media in the world.”

–
By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah