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: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Liberia court acquits former interim president of embezzlement charges

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

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[JURIST] The Criminal Court in Liberia on Friday acquitted former interim president Gyude Bryant of embezzlement charges. The former leader was charged with the embezzlement of $1.4 million during his interim presidency, which lasted from October 2003 to January 2006. The charges stemmed from an audit conducted by the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), the organization that oversaw the interim government of Liberia following nearly 14 years of civil war. Bryant was acquitted for lack of evidence, along with four others including former speaker of the House of Representatives, Edwin Snowe. Current Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected in 2005 and made campaign promises to address rampant corruption in the nation. In 2007, following his arrest, Bryant's defense lawyers urged the court to block his prosecution, arguing that Bryant was entitled to presidential immunity under the Liberian constitution. Government lawyers, however, successfully argued that Bryant should not be entitled to immunity because he served as a caretaker and not a democratically elected president. Bryant was appointed by regional peace brokers to head Liberia after the civil war.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 01, 2009 (boomark / email).