During the fourth hearing in the trial of the Martinez Zogo case, the Yaoundé military court on Monday pronounced two rejections concerning the request for the lifting of seals on the mortal remains of Martinez Zogo and that of transmission to defense lawyers of the investigation file.
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With our correspondent in Yaoundé, Polycarp Essomba
For most defense lawyers, this rejection had a little taste of victory. “ This is a first victory and a first satisfaction since it is progress compared to the court’s previous position and it gives us an additional chance to see this decision be reformed. Now as to whether we are going to use this possibility of appeal, the lawyers will consult and we will see », Explained Me Michel Seri Nzokou, lawyer for Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, the former boss of the Cameroonian secret services.
Me Justin Danwe, lawyer for Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Danwe, is no longer procrastinating, the opportunity of the appeal will be seized immediately: “ The accused cannot go before a bar without knowing, mastering, or even having the elements for which he is brought before the court. So we will go before the Court of Appeal which will situate us, because we believe that refusing us this communication is a violation of the rights of the defense “.
For the rejection of the unsealing of the remains of Martinez Zogo, Me Calvin Job, who defends the interests of some of the latter’s beneficiaries, is satisfied. “ This decision suits us completely because if we had lifted the seals, we would have had to exhume Martinez Zogo if the need for an expert assessment ever arose. “, he said.
More than two months and four hearings after its opening, the trial of the 17 accused which began on March 25, more than a year after the assassination of the radio host, is still in its infancy.