Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, remains firm in his resolve to defend the three accomplices of Chinese galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang.

Madam Huang, together with her three accomplices, are currently on trial over their alleged involvement in illegal mining activities.

Speaking in an interview with Kumasi-based Oyerepa FM, Mr Blay noted that his firm has pledged to defend people “who have wrongly been accused of engaging in galamsey,” and hence does not understand the fuss about his decision to represent the accused illegal miners.

“Irrespective of the fact that we support the fight against galamsey, we can’t allow innocent people to go to jail over galamsey, hence, our decision to defend them,” he said. Additionally, he noted that he would be very hurt should President Akufo-Addo ask him to withdraw from defending the three accomplices in Aisha Huang’s case.

“In my law chambers, we have said to ourselves that we will defend those that will be accused wrongfully of doing galamsey,” he stressed.

Asked the Oyerepa FM journalist, Parker-Wilson, if he will be willing to recuse himself from the case should President Akufo-Addo ask him to do so on grounds that defending the accused persons is a compromise on the fight against galamsey, Mr Freddie Blay maintained that his clients were innocent.

He further noted that President Akufo-Addo, as an astute lawyer who is well vexed in the law, will not make such a request, knowing very well that the accused are innocent.

“I’ll be very disturbed (if the President asks me to withdraw from the case). Honestly, I wouldn’t be happy to hear that from the President because of the factors involved.

“He [President Akufo-Addo] respects people’s rights. Nana Addo is a champion of Human Rights at the same time that he is championing galamsey. It doesn’t mean that those who are not even involved should be arrested and looked up in jail,” he said.

“If the fact is that the accused persons are innocent, I don’t believe he will say I shouldn’t defend them.”

Meanwhile, Aisha Huang and her accomplices are still standing trial. They are in police custody, following various failed attempts of their lawyers to secure bail for them.’

While Aisha Huang is being defended in court by Lawyer Effah Dartey, her accomplices are being defended by lawyers from Mr Freddie Blay’s Law firm, including his very own daughter, Lucy Ekeleba Blay.

Opening up about how his firm, Blay and Associates, met his clients, he noted that “these three Chinese came to my office to seek my defence, so I appointed my daughter to handle their case.”

He further defended the decision of his law firm to represent the three accused in court, stressing that “I have committed no wrong by defending the four accomplices of Aisha Huang.”

Source: The Independent Ghana