Activist Field Marshall Ayi has revealed that he was not informed of the reason for his arrest until he appeared in court.

He was part of the 53 protestors who were granted bail last week after public uproar.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Law on Sunday, October 13, Mr Ayi recounted his unexpected arrest on Monday, September 23—the final day of an anti-galamsey protest.

According to him, he was not near the protest grounds at the time of his arrest.

“On Monday, one of our colleagues came to pick me up from Dzorwulu, on our way, that’s when we heard that most of our guys were being arrested so those were not picked up yet, we decided to converge and decide what we were going to do forward. So we met at Vienna City at Circle. We were having a few drinks when the police just barged in on us and said everyone is arrested and picked us up.”

Read also: I was arrested without participating in protest – Komashie

He expressed frustration over how the arrest was handled, noting the absence of basic legal protocols.

“Ideally, we expect when arrested, you will be told your Miranda rights – the right to remain silent and those other things. None of those things were said.

"We were not told the reason for the arrest. It was just that usual rhetoric they always throw about ‘order from above.’ In fact, I didn’t know why I was arrested until we got to court – that’s two days after,” he added.

According to Mr Ayi, the police arrived at Vienna City with four pick-up vehicles and a police bus, arresting seven individuals from the gathering.