Liberia: Court Gives Govt 72-Hour Ultimatum

Monrovia — Criminal Court ‘A’ Judge Roosevelt Willie has given the Liberian Government 72 hours ultimatum to produce the living body of an alleged Guinean mercenary identified as Ibriam Kahli Cheriff.

The judge’s decision follows the hearing of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Khali’s lawyers against the government amid reports that the defendant may have disappeared from his prison cell. Judge Willie said that the state should inform him before the 72 hours can elapse.

A writ of habeas corpus is a court order which demands that a public official deliver an imprisoned person to the court and show good cause for their detention. The writ allows a prisoner to challenge the legality of their confinement.

Last week, former Associate Justice Cllr. Kabineh M. Ja’neh accused Justice Minister Oswald N. Tweh and Police Chief Gregory Coleman of allegedly kidnapping his client, Khalifa Charif (Sheriff). Kidnapping is a first-degree felony crime in Liberia.

According to Cllr. Ja’neh, Khali’s house was raided more than six weeks ago, and he was later committed to the Monrovia Central Prison by a court order.

However, Cllr. Ja’neh further claimed that early Sunday morning on November 3, 2024, between 3 and 4 a.m., Col. Coleman headed a team of security officers and bulldozed their way into the Central Prison compound.

Ja’neh claimed that without any reference to the court, which committed Mr. Khali to detention, the security forces took him away.

Cllr. Ja’neh also said that senior Liberian government National Security Actors ordered his client’s removal from Monrovia Central Prison.

“Although my client, Khalifa Charif, spent most of his early childhood in the Republic of Guinea due largely to the Liberian civil conflict, that does not make him a Guinean national, as being falsely circulated by Liberian state Security officials,” Ja’neh explained.

According to Cllr. Ja’neh, his client Khali’s money was allegedly seized by a joint team of Liberia National Police (LNP) and National Security Agency (NSA) officers who raided his home.

The former Associate Justice alleged that the officers did not present any warrant during the raid.

“To date, the officers who raided Mr. Charif’s premises under the instructions of the Inspector General of Police and the Solicitor General, Ministry of Justice, have continued to defy the court’s orders to bring to court all of the items seized, including cash and two vehicles,” Cllr. Ja’neh said.

This act, according to Cllr. Ja’neh is a concrete demonstration of lawlessness under the Boakai Administration.

Cllr. Ja’neh has vowed to ensure that Mr. Charif is released as ordered by the court without any further delay.

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The former Justice Minister said he would organize public demonstrations against National Security officers as the current administration no longer respects court orders.

“The demonstrations against police officers will continue, according to Cllr. Ja’neh, until the court’s orders releasing Mr. Charif are FULLY COMPLIED WITH,” a release issued in Monrovia said.

It can be recalled on October 8, 2024, the court released Ibrahim Khalil Sheriff from the Monrovia Central Prison (South Beach) on bail. Judge Willie’s decision comes after former Associates Justice Kabenah Ja’neh and Cllr. Amara Sheriff along with three other persons stood as human sureties for Sheriff’s release.

The Judge’s action, according to our judicial reporter, is due to lack of sufficient evidence submitted to the court by state lawyers who recently presented a flying sheet of paper and some money to the court as evidence against the accused.

On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, prosecution lawyers, after being summoned by Judge Willie for failing to present to court oral and documentary evidence seized from the Guinean for reportedly attempting to overthrow the current Guinean President Mamady Doumuyah, brought the pieces of evidence to court.- edited by Othello B. Garblah.

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