The high court in Aweil has dismissed criminal charges brought against one of the three persons being tried in connection with the killing of a five-year-old girl in Aweil town, Northern Bahr el Ghazal state.
The court made the decision this morning during its 3rd session. The public hearing of the case officially began on Tuesday after the suspects requested to be represented by a lawyer on Monday.
The three men are accused of defilement, killing, and attempting to dumb the body of Abuk Lual Lual on May 4 this year. They include Ahmed Hassan Ahmed, Omer Muhamed Omer, and 42-year-old Saber Abu Sam – believed to be the prime suspect.
On Tuesday, the court heard testimonies from five witnesses. 12 lawyers representing the family of the late Abuk seek to convince the court to charge the men with aggravated assault, murder, defilement, among others.
In Wednesday’s hearing, the court allowed the accused to respond to allegations labelled against them. The suspects through their lawyer Issac Deng Athian denied the charges.
One of the accused, Ahmed Hassan Ahmed told the court that he was not privy to the act of murder beforehand.
“I just received a call from my friend about the incident…that there was a child who had fallen into a pit latrine. I was arrested with them without knowing what was happening,” he said.
The Presiding Judge who is also the President of the Aweil High court, Abraham Majur Laat contented that there was no strong enough evidence to pursue charges against Mr. Ahmed. He ordered for his immediate release.
Upon being vindicated by the court, Mr. Hassan maintained that “Yes, I was in jail, but I don’t know what (caused) the death of the child.”
Judge Majur Laat further ruled that the remaining suspects; Saber Abu Sam and Omer Muhamed Omer will stay in jail until the final ruling is made.
The next court hearing is scheduled for Thursday, May 26, 2022.