News / National
Mugabe to be forced to testify in US court?
05 Sep 2014 at 06:36hrs | Views
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe should be deposed in a Chicago criminal case when he travels to the U.S. this month for a United Nations meeting, lawyers for a US businessman charged with illegally lobbying for the Zimbabwean leader have said.
Gregory Turner, 72, wants a federal judge to force Mugabe to give videotaped evidence in his defence.
Charges filed last year alleged that Turner illegally negotiated a $3.4 million deal to lobby for the Zimbabwean leader.
Turner - who's due to stand trial on September 29 - is accused of illegally lobbying US politicians, including Reps Danny Davis and Bobby Rush, to lift sanctions against Mugabe and members of his ruling elite.
But Turner's lawyers wrote in a court filing Thursday that he won't have a fair trial unless U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo orders Mugabe to give a deposition when he visits New York for a U.N. meeting later this month.
"If the Government is truly interested in the pursuit of justice, it should welcome Mugabe's videotaped testimony," lawyer Michael Leonard wrote in the filing, describing Mugabe's role as "central" to the case.
Together with co-defendant Prince Asiel Ben Israel, 73, Turner allegedly flouted U.S. sanctions when he tried to enlist four Chicago lawmakers in a failed bid to open a "back channel" to President Barack Obama and have the sanctions overturned.
Ben Israel previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced last month to seven months in prison. During his trial, Ben Israel admitted receiving a down payment of US$90,000 in 2008.
Mugabe is not subject to the subpoena powers of the court unless and until he arrives in the U.S.
However, previous attempts to detain him on foreign soil have not gone well.
British gay rights protestor Peter Tatchell was badly beaten by Mugabe's bodyguards in Brussels in 2001 after he attempted to perform a "citizen's arrest" on Mugabe.
Gregory Turner, 72, wants a federal judge to force Mugabe to give videotaped evidence in his defence.
Charges filed last year alleged that Turner illegally negotiated a $3.4 million deal to lobby for the Zimbabwean leader.
Turner - who's due to stand trial on September 29 - is accused of illegally lobbying US politicians, including Reps Danny Davis and Bobby Rush, to lift sanctions against Mugabe and members of his ruling elite.
But Turner's lawyers wrote in a court filing Thursday that he won't have a fair trial unless U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo orders Mugabe to give a deposition when he visits New York for a U.N. meeting later this month.
"If the Government is truly interested in the pursuit of justice, it should welcome Mugabe's videotaped testimony," lawyer Michael Leonard wrote in the filing, describing Mugabe's role as "central" to the case.
Together with co-defendant Prince Asiel Ben Israel, 73, Turner allegedly flouted U.S. sanctions when he tried to enlist four Chicago lawmakers in a failed bid to open a "back channel" to President Barack Obama and have the sanctions overturned.
Ben Israel previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced last month to seven months in prison. During his trial, Ben Israel admitted receiving a down payment of US$90,000 in 2008.
Mugabe is not subject to the subpoena powers of the court unless and until he arrives in the U.S.
However, previous attempts to detain him on foreign soil have not gone well.
British gay rights protestor Peter Tatchell was badly beaten by Mugabe's bodyguards in Brussels in 2001 after he attempted to perform a "citizen's arrest" on Mugabe.
Source - Agencies
