Ghana Police Arrest 21 LGBTQ Activists for ‘Unlawful Assembly’

(Bloomberg) -- Police arrested 21 LGBTQ activists who were attending a conference in the Ghana’s southeastern city of Ho, the latest raid targeting sexual minorities in the West African nation.

The “suspects,” who had come from across the country, “were advocating for LGBTQI activities,” the Ghana Police Service in Ho said in a statement Friday. They were accused of unlawful assembly.

“The command is cautioning the public, particularly parents, to be wary of activities of persons involved in this misbehavior and report them to the police,” it said. The activists will appear in court on June 4.

There have been increasing reports of LGBTQ people being targeted by police since a Jan. 31 fundraiser for a gay community center in the capital, Accra. Policemen shut down the LGBT+ Rights Ghana’s community space in a Feb. 24 raid, forcing its leader to go into hiding.

Less than two weeks later, a lawyer who had avoided answering a question about the rights of LGBTQ citizens was made Ghana’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection.

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