Samuel Nartey George, the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, has clarified that not all the women whose images were circulated by the Russian national had intimate encounters with him.
“Not all the women he publicised were engaged in any intimate encounter with him. In some cases, he barely met them at malls, said ‘hi’ and engaged them briefly,” he said.
Mr George was speaking at a joint press briefing in Accra on Wednesday with Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to provide updates on investigations into the unlawful publication of intimate images.
He described the suspect’s actions as “evil” and said preliminary investigations by the Cyber Security Authority had found that, in several instances, there was no evidence of any intimate relationship beyond brief public interactions.
“In some cases, there is actually no video evidence beyond the mall encounters. However, he published their images as though he had intimate encounters with all of them,” he stated.
Mr George said the misrepresentation had caused serious harm and stressed that the suspect must face the full rigour of the law.
He noted that although Ghana did not have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Russia, the Government was activating international law enforcement mechanisms, including INTERPOL, to secure an international arrest warrant.
He explained that while the Russian Constitution did not permit the extradition of its citizens, an international arrest warrant would restrict the suspect’s movement outside Russia.
“As soon as he steps outside Russia into any other country, he will be arrested to serve his sentence. Our proactive action has helped protect potential future victims,” he said.
Mr George rejected calls for inaction, stressing that failure to act would encourage similar offences.
“As a government, we have a responsibility to protect our citizens and ensure that anyone who violates our privacy laws under the Cybersecurity Act faces the full consequences,” he added.
Dr Lartey, on her part, said the incident had caused severe emotional and psychological trauma to the affected women, some of whom had no intimate contact with the suspect.
She urged the public to exercise restraint and empathy in discussing the matter, warning that insensitive commentary could further traumatise the victims.
Dr Lartey assured the victims of government’s support, including professional psychosocial services for them and their families.
She encouraged affected persons to contact the Ministry, with a guarantee of strict confidentiality.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com