Sulley Ali-Gabass lawyers open defence
The defence team of the Medical Doctor, Sulley Ali-Gabass, alleged to have sodomised a 16-year-old student, Monday opened their defence at the Accra Circuit Court.
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The lead counsel for the accused person, Mr John Benson, opened the defence in the trial held in camera.
The court, presided over by Mrs Rita Budu-Agyeman, adjourned to June 5, 2015 for the defence to continue its case.
Ali-Gabass is to be cross examined by the prosecution after his counsel completes its testimony.
Dismissal
The court, on May 26, 2015, dismissed the motion of a stay of execution filed by the defence team and ordered them to open his defence Monday.
The defence counsel had filed a motion of stay of execution against the court’s earlier ruling on the application of no case.
However, the court did not rule on the motion on May 26, 2015 after the submission from both the defence counsel and the prosecution.
At the last sitting on May 8, 2015, the court cautioned the prosecution and counsel for the accused person to desist from unnecessary delaying the case.
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The court had considered that the case had been pending before it since November 2014 and called for the expeditious trial of the case.
The court, on May 7, 2015, dismissed the application of “no case” filed by the counsel for Ali Gabass, Mr John Benson, and ordered the accused to open its defence on May 13 but the counsel failed to comply.
Witnesses
In all, five witnesses, including the victim and Manasseh Azure, the journalist who first broke the sodomy case that led to the arrest and prosecution of Ali Gabass, had testified.
The other witnesses were Sgt Francis Odei Asiedu, the investigator, Dr Nii Aryee, a surgeon at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital who diagnosed the victim with fistula and anal rectal abscess and the victim’s father.
Background
According to the facts of the case, the victim is a student residing at Kasoa, while Ali-Gabass is a medical practitioner at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
In September 2013, the victim encountered Ali-Gabass on Facebook and they became friends.
“They exchanged ideas online and communicated by phone for a while until October 2013 when Ali-Gabass arranged and met the victim at the Kasoa New Market area where he forcibly had anal sex with the victim in his car,” the prosecution claimed.
It said about 7 p.m. on December 28, 2013, the two met again at the same venue where Ali-Gabass was alleged to have had anal sex with the victim, after which he offered the boy a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone and GH¢20.
After the second sexual act, it said the victim became ill and Ali-Gabass allegedly prescribed paracetamol tablets for him.
“The act was repeated at the same venue in February 2014,” it said.
According to the prosecution, in March and April 2014, Ali-Gabass lured the victim to his house at Alajo in Accra where he allegedly had another bout of anal sex with him.
“After the fifth incident, the victim started experiencing excruciating pains and complained to Ali-Gabass to give him money to attend hospital but he refused.
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“Rather, he threatened the victim persistently via phone calls and managed to put fear in him from disclosing his ordeal,” the prosecution further claimed.