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The Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, has described attempts to extradite a Russian national accused of recording and circulating sexual videos involving Ghanaian women without their consent as a “lost cause.”
The comments follow remarks by the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, who indicated that steps were being explored to bring the suspect to Ghana to face justice.
Speaking to Channel One News on Monday, February 16, Mr Boamah, who serves on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, argued that the Communications Minister lacks the legal locus to initiate an extradition process.
He noted that Ghana does not currently have an extradition treaty with Russia, making any such move legally challenging.
Mr Boamah further emphasised that the uncertain status and identification of the complainants could complicate efforts to prosecute the suspect. He added that amendments to Ghana’s Cybersecurity Act would first need to be properly laid before Parliament and passed to strengthen the legal framework for such action.
“The Attorney General hasn’t made any application for extradition, which I think no court will grant, with the greatest of respect, because we don’t have that treaty with the Russians.
“Russia is not a state party to the Budapest Convention, which criminalises some of these things that the minister was talking about, including the additional protocols. And also, the amendment to the Cybersecurity Bill is not properly before Parliament. So those are issues that the government has to deal with,” he said.
