LIBYA. TWO GHANAIANS EXECUTED FOR MURDER

January 22, 2008: two Ghanaians, Charles Ansah and Asare Bediako, were executed for allegedly killing a Libyan citizen. They were tried in a Libyan Criminal Court, together with a Nigerian, and found guilty on May 17, 1998. They were alleged to have tied up the Libyan in his workshop and bludgeoned him to death because of a dispute over a transaction in drugs. Attempts to secure their release through the intervention of President John Agyekum Kufuor were not successful, as the Libyan authorities insisted that the convicts must face capital punishment. The Libyans indicated that under Sharia law, it is only the relatives of the dead who can pardon the killers ma non lo hanno fatto, and therefore the President’s request could not be granted. (Sources: Daily Graphic, 22/01/2008; Daily Guide, 28/01/2008, Modern Ghana, 07/02/2008)