More documents were yesterday tendered and admitted by the court in the trial involving Alhagie Jobe, deputy editor-in-chief of the Daily Observer newspaper.
Alhagie Jobe was arraigned alongside Mbye Bittaye, at the Special Criminal Court in Banjul before Justice Emmanuel Nkea.
He was arraigned on a five-count charge of making an act with seditious intention, seditious publication, and possession of seditious publication, giving false information to public servant, and reckless and negligent, while Mbye Bittaye was arraigned on a single count of making preparation to do act with seditious intention.
This followed the ruling delivered by the judge on the objection to the tendering of the documents by the defence counsel, during Monday’s hearing of the case.
The court admitted the photos and the story headlined: “Major Lamin Touray on the run”, which was earlier tendered by the state counsel A.M. Yusuf.
PW1, Jawor Keita, a police officer attached to the major crime unit continued his testimony, and further identified a laptop which was said to be owned by editor Jobe.
He stated that the laptop was in a black bag.
The state counsel then applied to tender the laptop in evidence as an exhibit, which was admitted.
The six photos of the vehicles with registration No. Observer 2 were also identified by the witness, tendered in evidence and marked as exhibits.
PW1 also identified both the cautionary and voluntary statements of the 1st accused person.
However, the defence counsel, E. Jah objected to the tendering of the statements, saying the said statements in question were obtained under duress and urged to court to conduct a voir dire to ascertain the voluntariness of the statements.
His application was upheld.
PW1, at that juncture, told the court that he was adopting his evidence-in-chief, and added that he did not promise the 1st accused anything, nor was he beaten.
The case continues today for cross-examination.
