Arab Organization for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) stated that Palestinian citizen Mahran Mustafa Baajour 39 has been subjected to enforced disappearance and torture in Ghana by security agents believed to be Mossad agents since his arrest on 13 December 2018 until his release in March 2019.
Baajour arrived in Ghana on 13 December 2018 on a business trip. He was arrested after leaving the airport of Ghanaian capital Accra without justification. He was arrested along with two other Ghanaian nationals who were at his reception and they were all taken to an unknown location. The two Ghanaian men were later released and they informed Baajour’s family of his arrest.
During his detention Baajour’s family contacted the relevant authorities in Ghana including the Internal Intelligence to inquire about the reasons and place of his detention; however the authorities denied his presence in Ghana or that they had arrested him in the first place. His fate remained unknown until the moment of his release.
AOHR UK confirmed that Baajour was subjected to physical torture beating all over his body psychological torture insult and verbal abuse by white-skinned officers speaking little Arabic language. Some officers’ clothes had Hebrew writings on it.
In his statement to the organization Baajour said: “As soon as I left the airport in Accra four cars surrounded the car I was in with another two Ghanaian men who were at my reception.
They arrested us without showing a legal warrant without disclosing the agency they belong to and took us to another place where they exchanged cars. They took me to an unknown place I still do not know and I was handcuffed the whole time.
I asked them about the detention center or agency they told me they are from the International Counter-Terrorism Agency. White-skinned men who knew little Arabic started investigating me. They were 14 men from different nationalities as they told me. I noticed on a coat which belongs to one of them Hebrew badges Hebrew written papers and some of them used Hebrew words like “Shekel”.
I was interrogated about the situation of the refugees in Lebanon the Lebanese and Palestinian political forces some terrorist activities and operations that were not related to me and I told them so. They tortured me in various ways for 35 days. They detained me in a narrow room 1×1 meters deprived me of sleep for up to three consecutive days poured cold water on me and beat me on the head strongly in addition to handcuffing my hands and feet all the time. They threatened me with kidnapping my 12-year-old daughter and killing her while verbally abusing me.”
Baajour added “I lost 25 kg of weight because of the starvation I was subjected to. For the whole duration of my detention I only ate one tomato and a cucumber daily. I also suffered many injuries and bruises due to torture. I asked to be seen by a doctor to treat my injuries but they ignored my request.
I believe the interrogation process did not take place in one country. I was taken by plane for hours to change the location of the investigation. I was blindfolded and could not identify the location or the state.
While releasing me they told me not to speak of what had happened or the airport from which I traveled back which was in Kenya as I learned later.”
The Ghanaian authorities must open a transparent and extensive investigation into the enforced disappearance as well as the torture Baajour has been through at the hands of Ghanaian and foreign security personnel which violates Ghanaian as well as international laws.
The Ghanaian authorities must bring those responsible for this crime to justice.
AOHR UK condemns the cooperation between the Ghanaian and Kenyan security services with the Israeli Mossad which is known for its brutality and its various international crimes.
AOHR UK calls on the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances and the Special Rapporteur on torture to investigate the enforced disappearance and torture of Baajour.
Source: Arab Organization for Human Rights in UK
