Africa-Press – South-Sudan. JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) – The fifth session of the special court opened with the usual presence of both defence and prosecution teams, but Presiding Judge James Alala ordered that the proceedings be held off-camera, despite a packed courtroom of journalists ready to broadcast the session live, as had been done in previous days.
The judge explained that filming of today’s session was restricted to prevent witnesses from both the prosecution and defence from accessing details of the evidence presented by investigators in court.
The proceedings
As the session began, the defence requested time to meet individually with the accused before the investigators began presenting their investigations.
Presiding Judge James Alala asked the prosecution to respond. The prosecution said it had no objection, noting that it was the constitutional right of the accused to consult with their lawyers.
Justice Alala then granted the defence team 30 minutes to meet with the eight accused.
The session was briefly adjourned as the defence conferred with the defendants inside the courtroom after they were removed from the dock.
When the session resumed, the prosecution introduced the chief investigator, Major General Basilo Wani Armanu, who also serves as Commissioner of Police in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.
He began reading out the statements of the defendants, who were arrested on different dates, with testimonies recorded at the Northern Police Division in Juba.
Major General Basilo first read the statement of the first defendant, Minister of Petroleum Puot Kang Chol, who confirmed his testimony but said some details were mixed up.
He then read the statement of the second defendant, businessman Mam Pal, who was arrested at Juba International Airport, followed by the third defendant, Gatwech Lam Pouch.
According to his statement, Gatwech said he was surprised by the Nasir incident, which he claimed was caused by misinformation. He denied parts of his testimony while agreeing with others.
The investigator also read the statement of the fourth defendant, Gabriel Duop Lam, Deputy Chief of Defence Forces and Acting Chief of Staff of the SPLA-IO.
He denied any knowledge of the Nasir incident and stated that at the time of his arrest, no charges were brought against him. He added that he was detained at the army general command on the orders of the Chief of Defence Forces.
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