The Office of the Attorney General has expressed dissatisfaction with the legal team representing Vera, a pregnant protester, for failing to disclose her pregnancy during her bail hearing.

Vera, who is four months pregnant, was arrested during a Democracy Hub protest and subsequently remanded in custody for two weeks.

Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah Yeboah, in an interview with Citi News, highlighted the importance of defense lawyers informing the court of their client’s pregnancy, especially in cases involving bail applications.

He emphasised that it is not the court’s duty to independently verify such personal details unless they are disclosed by the defense.

Mr. Tuah Yeboah explained that while the law mandates the disclosure of pregnancy at the time of sentencing, there is no explicit legal requirement for such information to be revealed during bail hearings.

However, had the defense brought the pregnancy to the court’s attention, it could have influenced the court's decision on whether to grant bail.

The Deputy Attorney General criticized the legal team’s failure to provide this crucial information, stating that it deprived the court of the opportunity to consider the pregnancy as a significant factor.

He noted that the lack of disclosure ultimately disadvantaged Vera, who could have received more favorable treatment during the bail process.

Mr. Tuah Yeboah concluded by urging defense lawyers to be more diligent in their responsibilities, particularly when important circumstances like pregnancy could play a role in court decisions, ensuring fairness and appropriate consideration during judicial proceedings.

“On this issue about the pregnant person, whether she’s pregnant or not, it’s not something that I can confirm for now, but the law on these matters is very clear.

"Now, when someone is pregnant and she’s stood before a law court, and the court is considering whether to grant bail or not to grant bail, the lawyer of a certain accused person must make it known to the court that his client is pregnant and provide the evidence.”

“So the court, considering the bail application, they want to look at that aspect of it. But the courts are also mandated by law. When they convict a female person, and it’s about to sentence the female, the court is mandated to inquire whether the female, that accused person, is pregnant.

"So when it comes to the grant of bail, the law does not mandate the judges to inquire, but when it comes to sentencing, that is where the judge prefers to do that.”

“On this particular case, I’ve checked with the attorneys who were in court yesterday, and from what we have been told, the issue of the pregnancy of an accused person never came up in court for the court’s consideration."

“And so if indeed one of the accused persons is pregnant, then the counsel for that accused person feels it is his duty to disclose that information to the court.”

“So if there’s any blame, I’d rather lay it on the doorsteps of the lawyer for that accused person and I’ve gone to the extent also to find out from the CID whether that information of pregnancy came to be a notice, whether that accused person disclosed to them that she was pregnant and there’s nothing from their end to that effect.”