By Grace Q. Bryant
The Residents Circuit judge of Criminal Court “A” Roosevelt Z. Willie has jailed a Lebanese businessman for contempt.
Judge Willie on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 sent defendant Nabil El Eter, the chief Executive Officer of the Itter Pharmacy in Central Monrovia to prison for two days for contempt and escaping justice or trial.
The hearing was to delve into a contempt issue that was out of court on grounds that an indictment drawn from the court dated May 25, 2022 was placed in the hands of sheriff to be served.
But, according to the sheriff returns dated February 10, 2023, the defendant escaped and hid him on several occasions of being served the indictment after telephone calls informing him about the indictment.
After notice of the representation of the parties by the judge, the defense counsel was granted the permission to make a submission, at which time they noted that the action subject of the proceeding was instituted in the Monrovia City Court and that the defendant in the docket was arrested and brought under the jurisdiction of the said court.
The defense team explained that at the court, they proceeded and filed a valid criminal appearance bond so as to seek his day to day appearance in court.
The defense team asserted that on May 8, 2023 while the defendant came at the Debt Court, he encountered a bailiff from the court; he was told that an arrest order has been issued on him in the docket and hence forth the defendant submitted himself to the court.
“We like to inform you that it was on Monday, the defendant got to know that there was an indictment drawn out from this court for which a copy was saved on him. Counsel says that for a careful review of the record, specifically the sheriff returns on February 10, 2023, the said sheriff indicated in his returns that at the time of the service , the defendant was not present but he however, indicated in the same returns that the sheriff spoke to him on the telephone and told him that he would have been in court, but as per the said returns there is no indication as to the telephone that the defendant purportedly used to communicate with him” the defense stated.
They further submitted that under the Liberian Law, the sheriff returns are belief to be true against other person unless otherwise contested.
Therefore, they further submitted that Supreme court has said that telephone is not the proper medium for which a citation can be tender against a defendant or party litigant and that because the said sheriff returns has clearly indicated that the defendant was not seen and there is no other return indicative of the record that the defendant in the docket was ever seen but not there is any record that says that the defendant refused to come to court.
“Counsel says, those three months ago, the defendant in the docket was involved in an accident on the 19th Street where the defendant arm got broken and was flown out of this country to Lebanon where he stayed for over three months before his return to this country.
Notwithstanding, giving the facts and circumstances, counsels request this court to purge the contempt of this court and give the defendant an opportunity to maintain his peace consistent with the action of the indictment that has been drawn, known and given to him on Monday. We prayed and submit the purging of the contempt and tender justice with mercy” they concluded.
But, prosecution in resistance prayed the court to dismiss, deny and set aside the said submission in its entirety on grounds that the defendant didn’t break his arms rather he is using that as a tactics to avoid or delay the justice because there is no evidence or medical report before the court to sustain his claimed.
Speaking to the sheriff’s return, the prosecutor said that the sheriff returns remained the best and genuine return until the defendant or his counselor can tender in counter to the return that was outset by the sheriff.
“To prove that the defendant has escaped the indictment, an arrest order was issued from this court directly to security personnel’s to arrest and bring the living body of the defendant to this court, this order was issued February 10, 2023 it is by the help of this order that the defendant was arrested Monday at the Debt Court. The defendant has been duly indicted and that the burden of prove has shifted now to the defendant and to prove that the defendant knows that what he did is not right, he has been escaping to receive the said indictment and from the perusal of the case file, there is no valid criminal appearance bond and so we pray to have him incarcerated at the Monrovia Central prison until the proper instrument is present to secure his released” prosecutor concluded.
