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Liberia: Final Arguments in Treason Trial Today
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The Inquirer (Monrovia)
29 April 2008
Posted to the web 29 April 2008
D. Webster Cassell
Final argument between state and defense lawyers in the on-going treason case involving two retired officers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) begins today at the Criminal Court 'A' at the Temple of Justice.
Lawyers representing the two accused, retired General Charles Julu and Colonel Andrew Dorbor, would present before the court their respective legal points justifying why the court should rule in their favor in the case.
Today's legal battle is expected to pull hundreds of Liberians, including family members of the accused, among others.
During the argument, which would be expected to last for several hours, both sides would provide the relevant legal quotations to justify to the court why it should rule in their favor.
State lawyers, would be seeking to convince the court why the accused men should be convicted for the crime while defense lawyers would be seeking to prove their innocence.
The accused were sometime last year charged with Treason for allegedly arranging for arms and ammunitions in neighboring Ivory Coast for the sole purpose of removing from office the democratically elected government of Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
They were later arraigned before a competent court of jurisdiction after which time the accused were jointly indicted for collaborating to dethrone the current government and consequently placed behind bars at the Monrovia Central Prison where they have been for the past months.
Due to the gravity of the crime, treason, the case was immediately assigned for the November Term of Court under Judge Charles K. Williams who was later replaced as the presiding judge of the court.
When the case was tried under judge Williams when it was first heard, the empanelled jury brought down the two men guilty but judge Williams overruled the jurors' decision after it was alleged that the state offered money to them to reach such a decision in favor of the state against the accused.
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Defense lawyers, led by Dempster Brown, vehemently opposed to the jurors' verdict raising alarm to the court before the verdict was announced that 'money changed hands in the process.'
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