Saturday, December 19, 2009 (Page 3 Lead)
THE two lawyers who are standing trial for forgery and defrauding by false pretence, were yesterday granted bail by the Accra Circuit Court.
The lawyers — Joseph Kwame Owusu Asamani and Ekow Amua-Sekyi — were granted bail in the sum of GH¢80,000 each with two sureties each to be justified.
They pleaded not guilty to eight counts of conspiracy, forgery of judicial document and uttering forged document and were admitted to bail by the court, presided over by Mrs Adwoa Bartels Cudjoe.
They are expected to re-appear on Tuesday, December 22, 2009.
Counsel for the accused persons, Mr James Agalga, is expected to move an application for stay of proceedings in the case on the next adjourned date.
The two were arraigned at a time the Human Rights Division of the High Court had set January 22, 2010 to determine whether or not Mr D.E.K. Daketsey, a Circuit Court judge, could continue sitting on the case against the two lawyers.
The lawyers had sought an interlocutory order restraining the Circuit Court judge from hearing the criminal case until the final determination of the application currently before the Human Rights Court on the grounds that the judge was biased against them.
However, the Chief Justice assigned Mrs Cudjoe to the case resulting in the arraignment of the two lawyers yesterday.
The lawyers, who wore suits, looked calm when they stood in the accused box. They were whisked away in a police vehicle to execute their bail bonds.
In the substantive matter, the two lawyers were alleged to have forged the judgement of a High Court judge, Mr Justice Ofori-Atta, compelling Mr Howard Eric Ewen, Managing Director of
Resources, to issue a cheque for $850,000 to Asamani.
When Asamani received the money on June 18, 2007, he issued a handwritten receipt while Amua-Sekyi signed as witness. The two have, however, denied any wrongdoing.
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