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Criminal libel law repealed

Ghana’s parliament voted unanimously on Friday to repeal the country’s criminal libel law which had been used in the past to prosecute media professionals, ‘Joy-FM’ radio reported. The abolition of the law fulfils a campaign promise by President John Kufuor during the December presidential elections. The first deputy speaker of parliament, Freddy Blay, said after Friday’s vote that the absence of the law was not a license for journalists to publish falsehoods, the radio reported. The government had announced in January that it would not use the law, pending its deletion from Ghana’s criminal code.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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