Blind prison inmate claims wrongful detention

PA Kumasi Central prison inmate, Mashud Mohammed is seeking for justice for what he claims to be wrongful detention.

Mashud is serving a ten-year jail term after he was charged by a court for possessing weed. He indicated that he had served two years on remand before his conviction.

In an interview with crimecheckghana, Mashud asserted that the charge leveled against him was false.

Narrating his ordeal, he said he was arrested in a vehicle by the police on his way from the Northern Region to Wassa Akropong to seek greener pastures. He said a luggage, which contained the narcotic drug, was falsely linked to him after several proofs that he did not own it.

Then a farmer, Mashud averred that the farming season had ended in the Northern Region so he was going down South to take up menial jobs for his upkeep when he unfortunately ended up in trouble.

“I was asleep in the car when we got to a police barrier and we were asked to alight from the vehicle. The police officers had already handcuffed me when they woke me up because they suspected that, the luggage containing the weed was mine. I told them the luggage was in the car before I joined but they still insisted it was mine.” He said.

Mashud said he was remanded into custody at the Obuasi prison for two years whiles attending court proceedings. He said though he met the bail conditions he was denied it because the police officers demanded Twenty Thousand Ghana cedis from him.

The inmate said he pleaded not guilty to the charge but the judge however handed him a twelve-year jail term even after several pleas.

He said he could not hire the services of a lawyer because of financial difficulties.

He stated that he went ahead to appeal his sentence and two years was taken off his sentence leaving him with ten years to serve.

The young man who is now blind said a metal cut him when he stumbled leading to his loss of sight.