By Saio Marrah
The second accused in the ongoing treason trial has said in his defence that together with his co-inmate they were severely tortured to the extent that his cell mate died at a police station in Freetown.
Mohamed Jalloh told the court on Wednesday July 10, 2024, that the man was a soldier brought into the Police Operations Support Division (OSD) Headquarters’ cell, known as Benghazi. According to him, police applied an electric shock and pepper spray on both of them while in detention to get them to say what they did or knew about the failed coup.
Speaking from the witness box having elected to testify in his own defence, he went further to say that police threatened that he would be the next to die if he did not confess.
He denied allegations ranging from treason, murder, shooting with intention to kill and other related offences levied against him.
The accused also told the court that on Friday November 24, 2023, he attended the wedding engagement ceremony of his younger brother at JallohTerrace, Kissy in Freetown after which he returned to his residence at Guma Gate, Regent and that he returned to Jalloh Terrace the following day, Saturday November 25, 2023 for the wedding.
According to him, he decided to spend the night at Jalloh Terrace that day after the wedding because it was too late to return to Regent.
He said in the morning, his brother woke him up saying that he received a message on media that there was unrest in town. After the confirmation of the said message, he decided to travel to his residence at Regent by Obama Junction and that after about three days, on the 29th November, he went to the main junction to buy airtime. He said he saw a team of well-armed military and police personnel who arrested him under gun point without explanation. He said one of the military personnel knocked him to the floor and started hitting him with a gun while the others placed burning cigarettes on his body.
The second accused said they then took him to his residence about 100 meters away while he was bleeding from his mouth. At his apartment, the security personnel searched and found a military bag, which he said belonged to his elder brother who is a soldier.
He told the court that his elder brother who resides at Benguema, decided to leave the bag at his (accused) house because he just completed his battle school training courses and that he wanted to attend their younger brother’s weeding at Jalloh Terrace
He told the court that has asked the security personnel to call his elder brother for clarification but they didn’t listen. The accused said he was taken to Lumley police station where two senior military officers identified him, then to the CID to make a statement and was confronted with allegations of him being part of those that attacked several government institutions, all of which he denied.
The 2nd accused took him to the police base called Benghazi where he said he was tortured. According to him, he later was coerced to say something when he was not in a correct state of mind. He called the attention of the court to the fact that one of the witnesses at the Court Martial, Staff Sergeant Alhaji Koroma had testified that he did not see him, the second accused during the failed coup attempt but that they only met at the Benghazi police cell.
He said all the other witnesses backed by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage did not identify him among the assailants.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (15/07/24)
