Highlights: The trial into the assassination of Martinez Zogo, host and former director of Amplitude FM radio, opened this Monday, March 25, in Yaoundé. The hearing was held in the presence of the 17 accused and their respective lawyers. The defendants' lawyers all agreed to demand that the entire investigation file be sent to them, a prerequisite, in their eyes, for a fair and just trial. Responses to the requests and these various observations will be provided by the court on April 15, the date on which the case was postponed.

Cameroon: observations and requests from defense lawyers during the Martinez Zogo trial

The trial into the assassination of Martinez Zogo, host and former director of Amplitude FM radio, opened this Monday, March 25, in Yaoundé. The hearing was held in the presence of the 17 accused and their respective lawyers. And for this start of the trial, it was mainly a question of the observations and requests of the defense lawyers to guarantee a fair and equitable trial.

Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo was found dead on January 22, 2023. © REUTERS/Amindeh Blaise Atabong

By: RFI Follow

With our correspondent in Yaoundé,

Polycarpe Essomba

The defendants' lawyers all agreed to demand that the entire investigation file be sent to them, a prerequisite, in their eyes, for a fair and just trial.

Other strongly supported requests include broadcasting on radio and television or the possibility of bringing in equipment such as overhead projectors.

Maître Jean-Pierre Buyle, lawyer at the Brussels bar and defender of Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, demanded “

the immediate release

” of his client in the name of the order of December 1, 2023 of the second investigating judge, Florent Aimé Sikati 2 Kwamo, which marked the release of defendants Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga and Léopold Maxime Eko Eko.

The question was quickly dismissed by the government commissioner, who declared that this famous ordinance “

does not exist

” and that it is a “

false document

”.

Another question which animated this first hearing, that of the constitution of the State as a civil party. Me Claude Assira, to the surprise of the defense lawyers, declared that he represented the interests of the Cameroonian State, immediately sparking a debate.

He finally revealed that it had been formed by the intelligence service – the DGRE – of which twelve agents are accused.

Me Jacques Mbuny, lawyer for Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Danwe, former director of operations of the DGRE, commented on this approach by calling it a “

regular abandonment

” by the State of personnel who were in its full service.

Responses to the requests and these various observations will be provided by the court on April 15, the date on which the case was postponed.

Read alsoCameroon: what we know about the trial of the assassination of Martinez Zogo which will open on March 25

Cameroon: observations and requests from defense lawyers during the Martinez Zogo trial

Cameroon: observations and requests from defense lawyers during the Martinez Zogo trial

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