The Prosecutor vs.

Mabo
Defence

Opening statement:
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my name is Beatrice Benak. My colleagues and I are here to
prove the innocence of the accused, Arthur Mabo. He stands here today wrongly accused of different
war crimes all including children. I hope you review all the evidence presented today and search for a
not guilty verdict for my client as this is the only appropriate verdict for this case.
Members of the jury, this case is simply one of misunderstanding. My client experienced a difficult
childhood. Mabo grew up in Shansau with his mother, father and two brothers which he loved
dearly. In 2002 when the Trous government took over, his father was killed by a police officer because
he was a Lago, grieving the loss of his father, his family fled to Vilba, a neighbouring country. In a
refugee camp, himself and many others wanted to return to reclaim Shansau. Mabo wanted to return
to his family’s land, which was rich in minerals, so he could provide for his mother and brothers. As a
solution, Mabo and other refugees founded the Union of Shansau Patriots, where he became
president and later on became commander-in-chief of the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of
Shansau (PFLS), where the main goal was to reclaim the land belonging to the Lago and to establish
the independence of the northeastern part of Shansau. All my client really wanted was to have peace
in Shansau once again. He protected children that came into the care of the camp regardless of if they
were a Lago or Kani. The prosecution wants you to believe that this man is violent and commits
terrible crimes as a way to “get back” at the Kani for killing his father many years ago and uses
children as his pawns in warfare but this is simply not true. He is fighting furiously for peace and
justice in Shansau, but how will he continue his fight, in jail, for crimes he did not commit?
Something to note is that only two of the witnesses have allegedly seen Mabo at the camp, one of
which is our witness. How could have Mabo recognized the difference between children looking for
protection there vs. child soldiers.? Furthermore, Mabo and Gaba both state that the camp helped,
protected and fed children put in care at their camp, either Lago or Kani, which were usually sent by
their parents. This explains the children at the camps and the clothing that children were wearing,
although to others it may seem as the children were being used to work I can assure you this is a
simple misunderstanding, as all the children were in similar clothing that was provided to them and
did help out with small tasks at the camp which can easily be taken in a wrong context.
During this trial, I will call up two witnesses. The first being the accused, Arthur Mabo, he will testify
that he is commander in chief at the PFLS camps but usually left his second-in-command, Charles
Yitu, to run the camp, giving him full control over how the camp ran and could have easily disobeyed
his orders. My other witness is Thomas Gabo, who was a former combatant for the PFLS camp. He
will testify that children, Lago and Kani, stayed there for protection and can confirm that he received
his orders from his superior which were given out by Charles Yitu, not Arthur Mabo.
Throughout this trial, I want all of you to keep an open mind as all the evidence is presented and
listen to both sides unbiased. I would ask you to return a verdict of not guilty, but that decision is in
your hands. Thank you for your attention.

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 Cross-examination - Alia Rutu
1. How far were you from the truck of the alleged rebels that you claimed kidnapped your son?
- (If more than 20 feet) The human eye can only see 20 feet clearly in front of them
without any object or person obscuring their vision and if the object or person they
are looking at, is not on top of, or at the bottom of the hill, so how are you absolutely
sure that these were rebels kidnapping your son, Emmanuel? How are
you not sure that it was people trying to help you son? Are you sure that what you
saw was truthful since you were quite a distance away from the truck and under a lot
of stress?
- (if less than 20 feet) Please explain to the court, in detail, what you saw and any
conversation you heard? Are you sure that the people you saw “taking” your son were
rebels? High levels of adrenaline can cause blurred vision and high stress can affect
memory, you were obviously in a lot of distress and that could have affected the way
the situation seemed to you, so are you absolutely positive that everything that you
saw is what you believe right now? Is it possible it was a misunderstanding?
2. You have told the court that you saw your older son being taken by the alleged rebels, but lost
track of your younger son? Please explain to the court how exactly you lost your son, Ismael?
- If Ismael was in the general area, where your other son was allegedly taken, why did
you not see him run off?
- Why did your daughters not tell you where your son went?
3. Did you know that your husband was dead before or after your sons were taken?
- (If before) So you knew your husband was dead, so how do we know that you did not
create a plan including your son to get revenge, because why would your 9-year-old
son run off alone, even after you told him to hide with his sisters?
- (if after) continue to next question
4. Was your son harmed in any way while at the camp? If he was, how was he harmed?
- (If he wasn’t harmed) Then do you 100 percent believe that Emmanuel was killed by
the PFLS?
5. How was Ismael miraculously able to escape, how was a 9-year-old child able to leave this
camp guarded by soldiers more the 2 to 3 times his age?
6. Since most of your story is based around what your son allegedly saw at the camp, how do we
know that you or your son are not lying?
7. Please tell the court why you believe that your son, a 9 years old, is telling the truth? Tell the
court why you think you are a credible witness, although you did not witness anything at the
camps?
8. Do you think that the accused is responsible for the murder and kidnapping of your eldest
son, a child he had never met that you, your son and another witness, never actually saw in
person until this day?
- (yes) Please explain why you believe that?
- (no) No further questions

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