Monrovia – Four Ivorians who have been held at the Monrovia Central Prison for a year without trial have been ordered released from further detention by the Monrovia City Court at the Temple of Justice.
The four were among nine Ivorians arrested on September 14, 2015 by officers of the Bureau of Immigration & Naturalization after they were accused of entering the country through the Toe’s Town border in Grand Gedeh County illegally.
It is alleged in the court record that during the arrest of the Ivoirians by Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization officers they tried to bribe the officers with the amount of 200,000 CFA to get a free passage.
Out of the nine Ivorians according to report gathered by FrontPageAfrica from a legal source, four were set free by officers of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization upon arrest in September 14, 2015 and one of them is said to have died while in detention at the Monrovia Central Prison but the cause of death was not revealed.
The release of the four Ivorians, all males, Tuesday morning by presiding Magistrate Kennedy Peabody was based on a motion from the Public Defense Lawyers, Attys. Jallah Zumo and Rachel Yabah Duobah to dismiss the case against the defendants for failure by the prosecutors to proceed with the prosecution of the defendants after their arrest.
The two lawyers told the lower magistrate court in their motion that the defendants were arrested and incarcerated at the Monrovia Central Prison on September 26, 2015 for the alleged illegal entry and bribery and since that time and up to the filing of the motion the defendants have not being transferred or indictment by the Grand Jury as required by the law to give the court the opportunity to hear the merits of the allegations against the defendants.
“Movants further avers that since their arrest and detention and up to filling of this motion, the movants have not been tried for more than twelve months since the defendants arrest and detention and up to the filing of this motion the movant have not been tried for more than 12 months of this court without good cause as shown in Section 18.2 of our Criminal Procedure Laws. Prosecution has failed to proceed with the trial for which this motion to Dismiss will lie” stated the two defense lawyers.
The two lawyers continued that Rule 9 of the rules and regulation for the governance of the Magistrate and Traffic Courts say no criminal case in the magistrate court nor any case in the traffic court, shall not remain pending and not disposed of for more than 30 days.
According to the lawyers the statute provides under Chapter 18 Section 2, unless good cause is shown, a court shall dismiss a complaint against a defendant who is not indicted by the end of the next succeeding terms after his arrest for an indictable offense or his appearance in court in response to a summons on notice to appear charging him with such an offense.
“Wherefore and in view of the foregoing, movants pray your honor and this honorable court for the dismissal of the crime charged, order the release of the movants from further detention and grant unto them any other relief deem fair, just and legal,” said the movants lawyers. But state lawyers interposed no objection leaving Magistrate Kennedy Peabody with no objection but to order the defendants free.
According to a legal source after the release of the defendants at the Monrovia Central Prison early Tuesday’s morning they were turned over to family members who were present at the prison.