Monrovia-Prison Courtroom ‘D’ Resident Choose, Her Honor Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf, is predicted to rule within the nation’s first-ever piracy case this week.
By Willie N. Tokpah
The case includes two Nigerian nationals accused of hijacking a industrial vessel on the excessive seas, against the law that has drawn each nationwide and worldwide consideration.
In response to court docket paperwork, the accused have been arrested and delivered to Liberia after reportedly hijacking a Liberia-flagged cargo ship earlier this yr.
The vessel, which was transporting items by way of the Gulf of Guinea, was intercepted by worldwide maritime forces following a misery sign despatched by the ship’s crew.
The suspects have been later turned over to Liberian authorities below maritime cooperation protocols, because the hijacked ship was registered below the Liberian flag, giving Liberia authorized jurisdiction below worldwide legislation.
This case marks a second in Liberia’s authorized and maritime enforcement historical past.
Though Liberia has one of many largest open ship registries on this planet, precise piracy instances prosecuted inside its home courts are unprecedented.
Prosecuting overseas nationals for piracy in Liberia units a precedent for a way the nation intends to implement maritime legal guidelines and safeguard worldwide maritime commerce below its flag.
Authorized analysts counsel that the court docket’s dealing with of this case may affect Liberia’s standing as a accountable maritime nation.
The historic trial took a dramatic activate Monday, when protection counsel, Cllr. Bestman Juah, knowledgeable the court docket that his shoppers have admitted to the crime and are looking for a plea-bargaining association.
State prosecutors, in a transfer signalling attainable leniency, raised no objection to the plea deal.
The plea deal, if accepted, may lead to lowered sentences in change for full confessions and cooperation with authorities.
Prison Courtroom ‘D’ primarily handles armed theft, hijacking, terrorism, and now, more and more, transnational crimes equivalent to piracy.
Choose Jabateh-Sirleaf’s forthcoming ruling may decide sentencing, formal acceptance of the plea cut price, and proposals for attainable deportation following incarceration.
As of press time, no official date has been introduced for sentencing.
This case underscores the rising complexity of transnational crimes in West Africa and the evolving position of nationwide courts in addressing crimes dedicated far past territorial waters.
