MONROVIA – The Executive Director of the Public Interest Law and Advocacy Center (PILAC), Cllr. Aloysius Toe, has come in defense of the newly nominated Executive Director of the War and Economic Crimes Court, hailing President Joseph Nyuma Boakai for the appointment of Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi.
Cllr Toe opines that Cllr. Massaquoi possesses the requisite skills, moral rectitude, human rights records, “evidenced by his legal defense of many indigent clients and political activists who faced prosecution and persecution from past governments”.
He said: “Both Cllr. Massaquoi and I provided legal representation for political commentator Henry Costa when he was persecuted by the CDC government under a bogus defamation suit; and both Cllr. Massaquoi and I were legal counsel of records in the case against former Chief Justice, Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott.
“I do believe and trust that Cllr. Massaquoi will make the country proud in his new role.”
The PILAC Executive Director further asserts that he disagrees with and rejects the argument of his former colleagues in the human rights community who are objecting to and criticizing the appointment of Cllr. Massaquio, simply because Cllr. Massaquio provided legal presentation for Mrs. Agnes Taylor and others.
Toe asserts that it is utterly ironic that his former human rights colleagues, who are seeking to protect human rights legacy, would at the same time blatantly undertake and seek to violate the fundamental rights of Cllr. Massaquoi without due process of law.
According to Toe, it is common knowledge that Chapter III, Fundamental Rights of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, provides under Article 18 that Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, like all Liberian citizens “shall have equal opportunity for work and employment regardless of sex, creed, religion, ethnic background, place of origin or political affiliation, and all shall be entitled to equal pay for equal work.”
Calling for the de-appointment of Cllr. Massaquio, without any proof of his commission of a crime or ethical breach is, at best a violation of his rights, and at worst, a misguided witch-hunt, he said further.
“It is unforgivable that human rights advocates would premise their objection to Cllr. Massaquio’s nomination merely on his legal representation to individuals alleged to be involved in the Liberian civil crises,” Toe also said in defense of his colleague.
Cllr. Toe reminded his former human rights colleagues that Cllr. Massaquio’s representation of any person, regardless of the allegations against the person, is protected under Article 21 (i) of the 1986 Liberian Constitution.
The provision states, that “… no lawyer shall be prevented from or punished for providing legal services, regardless of the charges against or the guilt of his client…”
He wondered how our human rights advocates would grossly seek to violate the Constitution of our land, by their advocacy.
Toe called on human rights activists to refrain and desist from objecting to the appointment of lawyers in government, merely because they provided legal representation for accused individuals, most especially where the lawyer has not participated in the commission of a crime or committed ethical breach.
The Liberian lawyer recalled instances of people he called “human rights brothers and sisters” in the country, such as the current Chairman of the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, Cllr. Dempster Browne, who provided legal representation for the late General Charles Julu in a Treason Trial, during the presidency of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
“Although it is a known fact that General Julu was accused of committing egregious crimes during the Liberian Civil War, Cllr. Brown still represented him when Julu’s rights were under attack by the Government,” he further reflected.
“Today, Cllr. Brown is heading the highest human rights office in the land with distinction and dedication, because there is no moral or legal bar to his chairmanship, simply because he represented a client accused of committing crimes.”
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