Freetown Magistrate Court No 3 yesterday viewed part of the video cassette of Col Muammar Gaddaffi’s visit to the country in the trial between Standard Times newspaper’s managing editor, Phillip Neville, and the Inspector General of police.
The general viewing took two hours though Magistrate Bankole Shyllon had allocated 45mins per session.
At yesterday’s hearings, the fourth prosecution witness, Henry Smith a cameraman at SLBS, was sworn on oath before the viewing operations of the exhibits.
The accused, Phillip Neville, was allowed from the dock to have proper viewing of the exhibits. The viewing operations started with a performance of a cultural group up to a point of the arrival of both Presidents Tejan Kabbah and Col Gaddaffi.
The viewing came to a point where the Magistrate had to caution the state counsel, Gerald J. Soyei, about the audibility of the cassette.
It was at the point when the foreign minister and now presidential running-mate for the SLPP, Momodu Koroma, was speaking and also when the Muslim prayer was said.
The accused also at that stage complained that he could not comprehend what was being said on the video cassette.
Magistrate Shyllon later informed the court that he understood what was going on when the Christian prayer was said and subsequent viewing.
The court viewed President Kabbah’s speech and his explanations about the donations the Libyan leader gave to the country and at that stage, the defence lawyer Jenkins Johnston snr appeared in court.
After the 45mins viewing the magistrate adjourned the next viewing to Tuesday 14.
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