Trial Chamber 1 of the Special Court has squashed the motion filed by the defence counsel for the first accused, Issa Sesay, for protective measure to be provided for the witness, former president Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.
Giving his ruling on behalf of the other two judges presiding Judge, Benjamin Iteo, said the application which was made in close session was denied and therefore dismissed.
The chamber ruled that the decision which was taken in closed session would be read in open session based on Rule 79 (B) which supports the reason for the denial in public justification.
Justice Iteo said the defence counsel’s application for protective measure could not be granted because it was now in the public domain.
He went on, “the hearing was adjourned for today in order to hear the testimony of Kabbah against whom Issa Sesay issued a subpoena to testify in his defence. He has been served to appear today.”
The judge added that, “[the] counsel applied to the court during the closed session for a protective measure and for this they rely on Rule 75(A) which is to safeguard the witness.”
Both the prosecution and the defence counsels for the second and third accused took no position in this matter.
The chamber ruled that, “considering the merit of this application, considering that the matter is in the public domain, the chamber accordingly denied the application by the defence counsel.”
Legal arguments on the issue of the evidence of ex-president Kabbah on the issue of whether the statement of former president should be tendered in as an exhibit were argued after which the statement of the witness was tendered and the former president is supposed to take the witness stand today with his oral evidence.
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