Lawyers for embattled High Court judge, Justice Paul Utter Derry have threatened to sue the Ghana Journalist Association for awarding Anas Aremyaw Anas as Journalist of the Year for 2016 based on his story which exposed corruption amongst the judiciary.
Nii Kpakpo Addo who is one of the lawyers said the award amounted to a validation of Anas’s work which jeopardizes their case before the court.
Speaking in an interview with TV3, Mr. Kpakpo Addo said “for someone who has violated the constitution and who is facing potential sanctions as a result of the violation, how do you hold him out as the epitome of good journalist practice?
“We are challenging the subject matter of the story that was used in making the award. What you’re doing is that when you award him as being the best journalist of the year it means you’re validating his conduct and what you’re saying is that everything he did was right…. that is our first concern.”
Anas Aremeyaw Anas, an investigative journalist released a video which shook the country’s judiciary with evidence that some practitioners of the court took bribes in various forms to subvert justice.
He was immediately challenged by some of the judges who were caught on tape engaging in various ‘nefarious’ acts.
The court is however yet to give a judgment on one of the cases involving Justice Derry on October 27, 2016.
“Why didn’t Mr. Anas put out the story and apply for the award himself? Its because he knew the case was in court and he knew he was party to the case and if he did an act which was prejudicial to the case, he would be cited for contempt.
“So the GJA should not have allowed themselves to have been used as a vehicle to perpetuate such an act… It is wrong.
“One of my clients is very aggrieved about this because his case is in court and he feels that the action of the GJA potentially will affect the outcome of his case. So he has indicated that he intends to take them on.”
By 3news.com|Ghana
Twitter: @3newsgh
