Journalist and Editor of The Herald, Larry Alans Dogbey, has been granted bail following his conviction and sentencing for contempt of court over publications linked to an ongoing legal dispute involving businessman Kevin Okyere and Swiss commodities trader Petraco SA.

The ruling was delivered on Thursday, June 25, by Justice Isaac Addo of the Accra High Court, who found that Mr Dogbey had knowingly breached a court order prohibiting further publications on the matter.

The contempt case stemmed from articles published by The Herald regarding a petition filed by Petraco SA against Mr Okyere, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited.

According to the court, Mr Dogbey violated an interlocutory injunction issued on June 11, 2025, which restrained him from publishing additional reports related to the dispute until the case was determined.

During proceedings, the editor maintained that he had not been served with the injunction and was unaware of any directive requiring him to stop publishing stories on the matter.

Justice Addo rejected that argument, ruling that the editor had acted in deliberate disregard of the court's authority.

"Despite this clear and unambiguous judicial directive, the Respondent willfully, contumaciously, and in flagrant disregard of the authority of this Court proceeded to breach the said Order of 11th June, 2025," the judge stated in his ruling.

The court further noted that its authority to punish contempt is derived from Article 126(2) of Ghana's 1992 Constitution and Order 50 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004.

Justice Addo subsequently ordered the issuance of a warrant of committal to the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service for the enforcement of the sentence. Mr Dogbey has, however, since been granted bail pending further legal proceedings.