Businessman Hassan Zein has appealed passionately to the government and the security agencies to, as a matter of urgency, address the recent terrorist tag levelled against him.
Some media outfits particularly in Mali and other parts of the continent have tagged Mr. Zein as a terrorist in their recent publications, but he has stated categorically that he is a law-abiding citizen who has nothing to do with terrorism.
He said the tag of terrorist is too strong a word to toy with, and as a result is calling on the government and security agencies to probe him if he is, indeed, a terrorist as being fabricated by some foreign media outlets.
He is also appealing to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration to use its good offices to take the matter up by reaching out to its Malian counterparts since it has international security repercussions.
Already, Mr. Zein has engaged his legal team‒ Crown Legal Bureau‒ to pursue the matter for defamation and push for damages.
In a release signed by Justice Abdulai (Esq), lawyer for Zein, it stated, “This is a clear case of defamation of character. My client has been misrepresented and defamed to the highest order.
This is a responsible businessman who had contributed immensely in the area of employment in Ghana.”
“We are appealing to the good offices of the president of the land, security agencies, the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Ghana, their Malian counterparts to handle the matter with immediate effect due to the security implications.”
The release added, “My client, who is not a religious Moslem is available for investigations to ascertain the terrorist claim, it is high time we took the issue of character assassination serious, otherwise, anybody can say anything to ruin a hard earned reputation like that of my client.”
“The said fabricated stories have had a telling effect on my client‒ emotionally, physically and business fortunes, as well as dented the image of Ghana.”
“We are pursuing this matter, through the offices of African Union, ECOWAS at the international courts, International Criminal Court (ICC) International Court of Justice and Africa to press for damages.”
