Dr. Riek Machar’s trial adjourns as defense lawyers demand written document
FILE---In this Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016 file photo, South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar addresses a press conference in his private residence in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Sudan announced Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016, it was now hosting South Sudan's former rebel leader and vice president, whose whereabouts had been unknown after he fled his country into neighboring Congo last week.Riek Machar needed "urgent medical attention," government spokesman Ahmed Bilal Osman said in a statement carried by the SUNA news agency. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)
By Kidega Livingstone
The court trial proceedings of Dr. Riek Machar and seven other SPLM-IO officials have been adjourned until tomorrow following a counter-argument between the suspects’ defense lawyers and the government prosecution team over the competence of the court.
The adjournment comes after Machar’s legal team demanded a formal written response from the government’s lawyers, after challenging the court’s competency and jurisdiction over the case.
Before the special court, Dr. Machar’s defense team filed a lawsuit challenging both the authority of the court to prosecute the case and the legality of the participation of “private lawyers” representing the government, which they described as “unlawful.”
In response, the government’s legal team offered only a verbal reply. However, Machar’s defense rejected the oral submission, insisting on a formal written legal response.
The presiding judge, James Alala, said this would allow the prosecution team to present their written arguments.
The defense team questioned the competence of the special court set to try Dr. Machar and six others, who were all arraigned in court.
