06 September 2012

Court Report Day 97 – 5 September 2012

Today, the prosecution admitted having spoken with the 'crown witness' outside of the court hearings - something the prosecutor had so far refused to comment on. He would, however, not say how many of these conversations had taken place and what the subject had been, stating only that it had nothing to do with the current trial.

An application by the defence to the court to formally request the minutes of these conversations was declined. A second application, asking the court to find out if the prosecution had promised anything to the 'crown witness' will be decided at the next hearing. The defence lawyer argued that the question of credibility was crucial, because it was effectively the word of the 'crown witness' against the word of the other accused.

The lawyer continued to argue that the only subject of value to the prosecution which the 'crown witness' would have been able to talk about was the organisational structure of the Somali pirates – which would prove his leadership role in the attack.