Tubmanburg – Jerry D. K. Garlawolu, president, National Association of Prosecutors of Liberia (NAPL) has called for an invetigation into the alleged flogging and incacaeration of Cllr. Juma Karnley on the order of Bomi County by Judge William Sando of the 11th Judicial County.
Karnely, County Attorney of the Bomi was reportedley held in contempt, but the judge allegedly ordered the beating, handcuffing and subsequent incarceration on March 19.
In a statement, NAPL president is calling on the Supreme Court and Minister of Justice, Cllr. F. Musa Dean to investigate the circumstances that led to the humiliation and incarceration of Cllr. Karnley.
The statement said, “NPAL vehemently deplores and condemns the action of Judge William Sando.”
NPAL is the umbrella organization of all prosecuting lawyers in Liberia.
The group said both the Supreme Court and Justice Minister should take concrete steps and institute genuine measures to prevent future occurrence of this utterly ugly and unacceptable act on the part of Judge William Sando.
Meanwhile, NAPL has indicated that it is terrified by the action of Judge Sando and says that it has fear for its members who are engaged in fighting crimes across Liberia under extreme and difficult conditions.
NAPL warns that if the action of Judge Sando is left unchecked, said action could serve as precedence for other judicial authorities to intimidate, humiliate and subjugate prosecutors elsewhere in the country.
The group further stated that the action of Judge Sando can be equated to misuse and abuse of his authority as a judge.
“When a writ of contempt was issued on Cllr. Karnley without hearing and at the same time condemning him to prison. This act on the part of judge Sando, is an abrogation of the doctrine of due process of law.”
The prosecutorial body reveals that the unprofessional and unethical conduct of Judge Sando is totally contrary to the dictates of the Code of Moral and Professional Ethics of lawyers in Liberia.
At the same time, NAPL has threaten to abandon courts across Liberia if Judge Sando’s action against Cllr. Karnley on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 is not investigated and he (Sando) is not reprimanded in conformity with the Judicial Canons for the Governance of the Conduct of Judges in Liberia.
NAPL has however, called on all of its members to continue to render to the courts of the land the due respect and courtesy required of lawyers as prescribed by the Code of Moral and Professional Ethics of lawyers in Liberia in the wake of the Judge Sando saga.
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