On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, in the evening, Shalimar Abbiusi, the spokesperson for the New Force political movement, was repatriated by the Ghana Immigration Service.
This came after state prosecutors dropped their charges against her, which led to her abrupt re-arrest on court property earlier that day.
Joy FM reports that Shalimar was repatriated at around 10 p.m., and that she received her confiscated belongings back, including her ID cards and iPhone 13.
Abbiusi, a Belgian national, was charged last week with fabricating documents to obtain a residency permit by pretending to be a student at Ghana Christian University College. The case took an unexpected turn on Tuesday when immigration prosecutors, led by ACI Adolf Aboagye Asenso, announced in court that they were instructed to withdraw the charges, even though they had been granted bail in the amount of GHc 20,000. Following the accused’s release, the case was struck out as withdrawn.
But Abbiusi was quickly taken into custody again by an immigration van as she was leaving the courtroom, leading to rumors that there was a plot to deport her. Shalimar’s family and attorneys were seen objecting to her being escorted into a van. Francis Xavier Sosu, the head of Abbiusi’s legal team, revealed that the group had filed a case in the Human Rights Court to contest what the group called the immigration service’s capricious actions.
“We have filed an action in the Human Rights court against them. For all other processes, they may want to take for purposes of either trying to remove her from the country or not. I am hoping that by the close of the day or by afternoon they will all be served with those actions and they will appear in court to come and answer for what they are doing. “Because we knew that there is a likelihood that they will be behaving in the manner they are behaving. And this is so arbitrary and this should not be tolerated in any democracy,” Francis Xavier Sosu stated in an interview with Citi FM in Accra.
Concurrently, Abbiusi’s residency permit was revoked by the Ghana Immigration Service, claiming that her prolonged stay in Ghana was unlawful. There were wild scenes outside the courthouse due to the decision and the plans for repatriation. Due to a lack of evidence, the state prosecutor dismissed all charges against Abbiusi earlier in the day and ordered the return of her confiscated iPhone 13 Pro.
Ms. Abuissi’s parents were clearly upset as the court case developed because they thought their daughter might be deported. Amid Abbiusi’s ongoing legal battles, The New Force issued a press release on December 7 warning about abuses of power, persecution of political opponents, and violations of human rights. Her attorney, Francis Xavier Sosu, is alleged to have stated that the legal dispute would go on in court even after his client returned home.
