Judge Rejects Evidence Suppression …Orders Trial

 Criminal Court “A” Judge Roosevelt Z.Willie on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, denied a motion filed by the defense team of former House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa and others seeking to suppress key evidence in their trial.

The judge instead ordered the case to proceed to a full trial, setting Friday, September 26, 2025, as the date for the opening of proceedings.

The defense had argued that evidence gathered against the defendants should be thrown out on grounds that it was obtained through sodomization and torture by state security agents and illegally through the National Security Agency (NSA).

Judge Willie, in his ruling, said the medical report submitted by Dr. Philip Zochonis Ireland of AMI Expeditionary Healthcare admitted that his findings were constrained by several factors: the passage of time between the alleged incidents and the examinations, which could obscure findings; revocation of consent by the defendants for genital and anal examinations; and limited diagnostic tools in Liberia’s medical setting.

The judge mentioned that in the letter sent to the court, despite these constraints, Dr. Ireland provided a “thorough, impartial, and professionally grounded account” of the clinical evidence along with submitted photographic records of scars and other injuries on some defendants.

However, he noted that these could have resulted from causes other than torture. Judge Willie dismissed the defense’s motion, citing inconsistencies in their claims.

He noted that while the defendants initially alleged sodomization, they later retracted those claims during their medical examinations, explicitly denying sexual abuse and refusing genital and anal assessments.

“This presupposes that the evidence of sodomization was imaginary as insinuated by the defendants themselves,” the judge said in his ruling.

On the allegation of torture, the court found no proof linking the defendants’ scars to state security agents.

Judge Willie highlighted that the defendants were represented at every stage of their interviews by lawyers Cllr. Jonathan T. Massaquoi, Atty. Martin J. S. Corlon, and Atty. Ekwe Bernard.

No objection was raised by counsel at the time, he said, as would have been required if their clients’ rights were being violated.

Quoting the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, Article 21(c), the judge reminded the court that every accused person has the right to remain silent, to counsel during investigations, and to be free from self-incrimination. In this case, he ruled, those rights were respected.

Judge Willie acknowledged the constraints highlighted in Dr. Ireland’s report but said they were not sufficient to suppress the evidence entirely.

“While we cannot fully rely on the report to suppress the evidence, we recognize the effort made by AMI Expeditionary Healthcare in presenting a professional account under challenging circumstances,” he said.

Citing Supreme Court precedent in Shaheen v. Occidentale (13 LLR 278), Judge Willie added that a defense which both denies and avoids is inconsistent and dismissible.

“The evidence shall be passed on to the trial jurors, who are clothed with the legal authority to determine the genuineness of the allegations,” the ruling stated.

Despite denying the motion, Judge Willie reminded the state of its obligation under Article 10(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to treat persons deprived of liberty “with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”

The judge formally assigned the full trial to open on Friday, September 26, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. He concluded: “The motion to suppress the evidence is hereby denied, and this case is ordered proceeded forthwith.”

The defense team immediately took exception to the ruling and announced their intention to appeal to the Supreme Court.