–Over the Speedy Trial of Two Liberian Officials Charged with Rape

It has been weeks since the police in the South Korean city of Busan charged two Liberian officials – Moses Owen Brown, Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Daniel Tarr, a Director at the Liberia Maritime Authority were charged with ‘Two Person Joint-Rape” following allegation from two South Korean ‘teenagers’ that they were raped during interaction with the two Liberian officials.

The two Liberians were in South Korea to attend the 2022 Korea Maritime Week & International Maritime High Level Discussion when the unfortunate situation happened.

In a diplomatic note to Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Kemayah, Liberia’s Ambassador to Japan narrated the ordeal of the two Liberian officials, detailing an alleged torture on their persons, and having been charge with Police in Busan they were taken to court and indicted. Ambassador Blamo Nelson in his diplomatic note to Minister Kemayah said thereafter, the two Liberian officials were taken to an unknown location in Busan, as they await their trial date which is yet to be set.

Meanwhile, in the wake of mounting public concerns about the status of the two Liberian officials who were arrested recently in Busan, South Korea over allegations of rape, especially as it pertains to what the Government of Liberia is doing to ensure that the rights of the accused Liberian government officials are protected under the Geneva Convention, IPNEWS has been hinted through diplomatic source that the Liberian government is continuing to engage the Government of South Korea, asking them to follow international norms and protocols by ensuring that two arrested Liberian officials are given fair trial and ensure their rights and privileges are respected in keeping with international protocols.

According to a well-connected Liberian diplomatic source, the Government of Liberia has done everything consistent with what other governments will do, but that the Government of South Korea has been cagey in addressing the concerns of the Government of Liberia with regards to its incarcerated citizens/two officials.

Liberia’s Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Kemayah                    Liberia’s Ambassador to Japan Blamo Nelson

According to the diplomatic source, no matter the crime that a citizen commits, the government’s responsibility first and foremost is to ensure the rights of that citizen is protected and their wellbeing is satisfied.

A local daily, The ANALYST also quoted a diplomatic source regarding the situation of the two Liberian officials who are currently in detention in South Korea awaiting trial for alleged rape. “Also, there are obligations the South Korean government must follow at all times in dealing with foreigners. That’s the conventional rule of diplomacy. But what did the Liberian government do specifically? The government did a diplomatic note; I am not talking about their employer, the Bureau Maritime Affairs; I am talking about the government. We issued the diplomatic note Verbale not because we received any formal complaint from the South Korean Government through their Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but because the issue was in the news. 

“So, we issued a Note Verbale to the Foreign Ministry of South Korea through the South Korean Embassy in Nigeria and through our Embassy in Japan because Japan covers South Korea. In that note, the Liberian Government informed the South Korean Government that two of our nationals had been detained in Busan in Korea. The Government of Liberia wanted the South Korean Government to provide information as to the allegation in order to help the government of Liberia give advice on the next step or the next course of action. 

“Our Note Verbale reminded the Government of South Korea of their obligation under international law to protect the rights of the accused persons. That is the first step we took as a government, and that’s the normal channel because they had not formally written to the Liberian Government that they have two of our citizens arrested in Korea.”

The diplomatic source further intimated that the Government of Liberia later received a report, not from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the South Korean Government, but from their Busan Police about the incident, which the Liberian government accordingly considered unofficial.

“So based on the Report from the Busan Police, the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dispatched a consular officer from our Embassy in Japan to South Korea to ascertain the facts and to see the treatment meted out against our officials and our citizens, and to examine circumstances leading to what transpired. That is the first step the Government of Liberia took. We call such intervention consular service,” the diplomatic source intimated.

It was further disclosed by the diplomatic source that the consular officer went to Busan, met the police and inquired about what transpired.

“In the consular officer report, the officer observed a number of things and reported back to the Ambassador of Japan, Blamo Nelson. What did we do upon hearing that? The Government of Liberia again issued a second Note Verbale referring to the first Note Verbale, regarding an allegation, arrest and detention of our citizens; to which the Korean Government had not responded. 

“Hence, we requested that they respond to the allegations first; and second, that there were observations on the treatment of our nationals. And we reminded them of the obligations of the international protocols. We sent the Diplomatic Note last week based on the Report of our First Secretary,” the diplomatic source stated emphatically, noting that the Korean Government through their Foreign Ministry is shying away from putting itself on record, so that’s why they did not respond to the Government of Liberia’s two Note Verbale.

Meanwhile, there were hints that the court case was expected to have come up this gone Monday, October 10, 2022, but it there hasn’t been any other reports whether the two Liberians’ case proceeding had actually began.

“Our job is to provide legal representation to our accused citizens. We are in the process of hiring a good Korean lawyer that understands the nature of the accusation and to represent our citizens. 

“The next move is to summon the South Korean Ambassador from Nigeria because we’ve written to him twice and he has not responded to any of our Notes. As it stands right now, we sent two Notes. We’ve sent a representation on the ground. We are providing legal representation to hear the subject matter. You don’t just hire a lawyer based on a list; you get a lawyer based on the record of achievement. The Embassy is looking at lawyers with the requisite achievement rating; someone who has an understanding of the African terrain,” our diplomatic source further stated.

Liberians continue to wait anxiously when the two indicted officials will go to court in Busan, South Korea and answer to the charge of “Two Persons Joint Rape” charge as was indicated by the Korea police.