Suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar has told the special court he is being denied adequate access to his defense lawyers, arguing that the restrictions undermine his right to a fair trial.
Speaking during the 102nd trial session at Freedom Hall in
Juba on Wednesday, Machar, the fifth accused, said he and the others only meet
their lawyers in court.
"We only meet them here in court. We don't have access
to them," Machar told the three-judge panel after Presiding Judge James
Alala Deng asked why the defense team had arrived late.
When the defense team arrived in court, lead defense lawyer
Kur Lual Kur said the delay was caused by a punctured tire on the way to the
hearing.
Kur also said security authorities had repeatedly prevented
the defense team from meeting the accused despite submitting requests in
advance.
“Last time we wrote a letter to the NSS requesting to meet
the fifth accused. We reached his house at 10 a.m. and stayed outside the gate
until 3 p.m. We were denied access to the fifth accused pending approval from
above,” Kur said.
Judge Stephen Simon Binjigwa said the defense lawyers are
permitted to meet the accused either at the Blue House detention facility or at
Machar's residence with the court's approval. He directed the defense team to
report any future access challenges to the court.
The hearing was adjourned until August 3, when co-accused
Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam is expected to continue presenting his defense.
Machar and seven co-accused are facing charges including
murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property and
crimes against humanity over the March 2025 attack on the Nasir military
garrison.
Prosecutors allege that forces linked to the Sudan People's
Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO), alongside the White Army militia,
killed 257 South Sudan People's Defense Forces soldiers and destroyed or seized
military equipment during the attack.
