Miata Beysolow seeks separate trial

Indicted ex-commerce minister Madam Miata Beysolow has filed papers with the Criminal Court “C” at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia, seeking separate trial in an economic sabotage case that involves her and a number of ex-officials.

Madam Beysolow was jointly indicted along with former Liberian Petroleum Refining Company or LPRC Managing Director, Mr. T. Nelson Williams; LPRC’s former deputy managing director for operations, Mr. Aaron J. Wheagar, and Commerce Ministry’s former director for the division of price analysis and marketing, Mr. Steve Flahn-Paye.

Prosecutors have accused the indictees of allegedly depriving government of US$5,764,110.84, which is a portion of US$13,083,350 from proceeds of Japanese Oil Grant donated to Liberia for the supply of an expected quantity of 15,000 metric tons of petroleum products for economic and social development effort.

They were indicted for economic sabotage, misapplication of entrusted property, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation and violation of required Public Procurement and Concessions Commission or PPCC procedures and processes.

In the request for separate trial, Madam Beysolow says her defenses clash with those of the other indictees, arguing that she did not facilitate at any time nor conspired with others accused to allegedly commit the acts mentioned in the indictment.

She says the indictment is vague, speculative, archaic and indistinct in reaction to the allegation made against her, saying it shows no evidence linking her to the alleged acts of the other defendants. She says the Ministry of Commerce was only responsible to determine and set the analyzed price for the Japanese Oil Grant donated to Liberia, though she insists that as Minister, she did not sign any price analysis document to the effect of determining the analyzed price of the oil grant in question.

She concluded that in August 2011, she was not in Liberia, and as such, could not have signed the Japanese Oil Grant analyzed price document.

By Winston W. Parley-Editing by Jonathan Browne