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Legal Aid secures 3 releases on Sat

Legal Aid secures 3 releases on Sat

It was all smiles for Legal Aid Board clients Mohamed Sufiyan Sesay, Daniel Bangura and Abu Bakar Samura as they had their first taste of freedom in months following their discharge by the court on Saturday, July 9.

Mohamed Sesay, 36 was charged with obtaining money by false pretenses, Daniel Bangura with robbery and Abu Bakar Samura with sexual penetration. 
Court records indicate that between September to November 2014, Sesay obtained the sum of $11,500 from an American citizen Lawrence Fredrick Blob by falsely claiming that the money will be used to prepare documents for the export and shipment of precious minerals.
According to Sesay he was arrested in August 2015 after complying with a police request to present himself at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) head office on Pademba Road in Freetown.

He spent one and half months in cell while the matter was being investigated. He was charged to court in September 2015 and remanded at the Pademba Road Correctional Center. The mater was consequently committed to the High Court.
With no indictment, Sesay faced an uncertain future in prison since he could not stand trial.  Sesay brought his plight to the attention of the Legal Aid Board’s paralegal in one of his usual visits to the prison.  ‘I was served an indictment in April 2016 following the intervention of the Legal Aid Board,’ Sesay said.

Sesay made six appearances at the High Court presided over by Justice Momo-jah Steven before the matter against him was discharged for want of prosecution. This follows an application by the Legal Aid Board lawyer for the matter to be discharged becau
se the complainant had refused to testify in court since the inception the case.  ‘Since I was arrested in August 2015 and consequently charged to court, I have not set eyes on the complainant or any witness to testify against me’ Sesay said.

The other accused persons Daniel Bangura and Abu Bakar Samura were also discharged for want of prosecution. Bangura was arrested on 17 August 2015 for robbing one Foday Mansaray. He spent nearly eleven months on remand before the matter against him was discharged.
Samura was arrested on the 24 Mach 2016 and spent over three months on remand before his discharge by the court.

 Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles continues her upcountry tour with a visit to Kenema on Saturday, June 9 to assess progress in getting the office ready for its operations in that part of the country.  ‘Our upcountry offices are nearing completion, my visit to Kenema is to assess progress because we just cannot afford to miss the deadline we have set ourselves,’ Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles said. ‘Interviews for lawyers have been complete, so deployment will started in the coming weeks.’

Ms. Carlton-Hanciles paid a similar visit to Bo two Saturdays ago on July 2nd 2016.

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