Family of Ghanaian arrested in Ukraine pleads for his release
The family of Mr Ishmael Toff-Mensah, a Ghanaian being held in Ukranian prison since July 28, 2018, is calling on government to investigate and help secure his release.
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His sister, Ms Maame Borsah Barikisu Toff-Mensah, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said her brother was impressed upon to visit his nephew by the family as he was reluctant to do so.
“He didn’t want to go and we even had to force him to visit his
She said her brother travelled to Ukraine from Accra on July 27, made a transit at Istanbul before arriving in Kiev on July 28, 2018.
He then notified the family of his safe arrival via social media chat and also indicated that he was held up at immigration check.
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Immigration hold-up
The
“They said the luggage was too much and they asked him if he was surely going to return. He even showed them his student identification card just to prove to them that he was going to return to his country”, she said.
While detained at the airport, she revealed, her brother was made to sign a
“After everything, they asked him to go. My nephew was then at the airport waiting for him. My brother stepped out of the airport and gave his stuff to my nephew and then a car came to pick him up” she added.
She indicated that he was whisked away to a police cell and later moved to the Lukyanivska Prison in Kiev where a preliminary hearing was held on July 30 with an adjourned sitting set for September 12, 2018.
Lukyanivska Prison, Kyiv
Deteriorating conditions
She said the family was worried about the deteriorating condition of their relative, who was being fed with bread and sugar solution.
“They took $100 dollars from him to put him in the wardens’ quarters and just a week ago they demanded another $200, which he didn’t have and he has now been mixed up with the inmates” she added
Moreover, the family has been denied contact with their relative for over a week now, she said.
Family Efforts
Efforts by the family, according to Ms Toff- Mensah, to rescue the fifth and only male child among six children, have so far not been successful.
She said the family had already contacted the Ghanaian Consul in Ukraine, sent a petition to the Ministry of
The situation, she said, has also worsened the medical condition of their mother who is hypertensive and has been in-and-out of the hospital.
“They should bring him home. I need my brother home. He is not there to do anything”, Ms Toff-Mensah pleaded.