Liberia, May 8 -- Tuan, Ford Convicted on Select Counts as Major Charges Against Former Officials Crumble

By Willie N. Tokpah

Temple of Justice - In what many observers are already describing as one of the most embarrassing courtroom defeats for the Liberian government in recent years, jurors at Criminal Court "C" on Friday, May 8, delivered a crushing blow to state prosecutors by acquitting former Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and several former senior officials of the gravest charges in the government's highly publicized economic sabotage case.The verdict, handed down after months of dramatic legal battles, intense public scrutiny, and politically charged accusations, significantly weakened what the gov...