The case surrounding the Capitol Constructing arson has entered a brand new section of scrutiny following an surprising rescheduling of the ultimate ruling.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, September 19, 2025: The movement to suppress proof, filed by the defendants, which incorporates former Home Speaker Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa and his associates have been on the middle of this authorized growth.
The ruling was anticipated to be handed down on Thursday, September 18, 2025, primarily based on the medical checkup and examination report, which was to be submitted to the court docket, to evaluate the allegation of sodomy and torture as argued by the protection.
Surprisingly, on Thursday, September 18, 2025, when judicial reporters, involved Liberians, and sympathizers gathered at Prison Court docket “A” to witness and supply protection for the case, they have been shocked to seek out that the listening to had not taken place, and the court docket was empty.
Prison Court docket “A”, below the management of Presiding Choose Roosevelt Z. Willie, has set the brand new date for the ultimate ruling.
The choice is now scheduled for Wednesday, September 24, 2025. This marks a big shift within the timeline and has led to elevated hypothesis concerning the explanations behind the delay.
The rescheduling comes amid experiences of a medical checkup associated to allegations of sodomy and torture. These health-related points seem to have contributed to the postponement, intensifying public and authorized curiosity within the case’s end result.
Nonetheless, involved in regards to the halt within the case, judicial reporters went to the workplace of the clerk to collect causes behind the postponement. Nonetheless, they have been offered with a brand new letter of task, rescheduling the events for Wednesday, September 24, 2025, as the newest date for the ultimate ruling.
Throughout the Wednesday, September 10, 2025, sitting, protection legal professionals argued that AMI, just like the John F. Kennedy Medical Middle, is a government-contracted medical facility linked to the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Nationwide Police. They argued that such affiliation compromises the credibility of any medical report anticipated to find out allegations that the defendants have been tortured and sodomized whereas in custody.
Counsel for the protection reminded the Court docket that co-defendant Thomas Etheridge, after allegedly being tortured and compelled to admit, collapsed and was taken to AMI, the place docs attributed his situation to malaria slightly than alleged beatings he suffered. They argued that this incident demonstrates why the defendants don’t belief the integrity of AMI and why an impartial medical establishment with no ties to authorities should conduct the examinations.
Ruling on the problem of medical examination, the Choose acknowledged the protection’s mistrust of JFK however emphasised that AMI Expeditionary Healthcare is “an internationally acknowledged facility offering impartial {and professional} medical companies.” He famous that AMI operates below worldwide requirements and, subsequently, needs to be trusted to conduct a impartial evaluation.
Choose Willie ordered that each one defendants be taken to AMI on the expense of the Ministry of Justice for a whole medical examination. He additional mandated that the medical experiences be submitted to the Court docket by September 17, 2025, to allow a ruling on the pending Movement to Suppress Proof.
On September 8, 2025, legal professionals representing former Home Speaker Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa, colleagues, and others rejected a medical checkup and examination proposed by Prison Court docket “A” choose Willie, arguing that the defendants threat potential dying if not medically examined independently.
The defendant’s schedule for medical remedy and examination consists of Christian Kofa, John Nyanti, Eric Susay, Thomas Isaac, Thomas Etheridge, and Stephen Broh, all of whom are co-defendants within the Capitol Constructing arson case.
They have been charged for the alleged fee of the crimes: Arson, Prison Mischief, Prison Conspiracy, Prison Solicitation, Prison Intent to commit homicide, Aggravated Assault, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Launch of damaging Forces, recklessly endangering one other particular person & Theft of Property, now pending earlier than this Court docket, undetermined.
The protection movement for an impartial medical checkup is in response to the Prison Court docket “A” Choose Willie’s current determination proposing a medical checkup for the defendants on the John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital to determine or not the allegation of sodomy, torture, and different medical issues as alleged of their movement to suppress the proof submitted by the prosecution.
Throughout the listening to, the protection partially accepted the choose’s determination. It said for the document that they’d have most well-liked an impartial medical examination, remedy, and analysis of the defendants.
Predicated upon their argument, the protection on Monday, September 8, 2025, filed a movement for Impartial Medical Examination saying that if the defendants are usually not correctly medically examined or handled by a crew of impartial medical practitioners aside from the federal government owned John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital, their infections and appalling situations might degenerate right into a extra extreme case that would result in their deaths, opposite to regulation.
The protection of their movement to suppress the proof submitted by the prosecution alleged that the defendants have been egregiously tortured by Brokers of the Nationwide Safety Company (NSA) and Liberia Nationwide Police (LNP) on the Headquarters of the NSA and, consequently, for the previous months, the Movants have been experiencing extreme ache when urinating.
In accordance with the protection, the defendants likewise have the reddish shade of their urine, including that these Brokers flashed vivid lights of their faces, which induced them blurred imaginative and prescient, is discovered wanting and evil.
The protection of their movement additional indicated that their purchasers’ situations are usually not solely signs of urinary tract an infection and blurred imaginative and prescient, however the consequence of the extreme beating and waterboarding being perpetrated towards their individuals by these Brokers of the NSA and LNP is in gross violation of their basic rights as assured by the 1986 Structure of Liberia
