Counsel for suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar and his seven co-defendants have applied to the court for permission to produce their own audio and video recordings of the hearings.
They maintain that this step is necessary to guarantee equal treatment for all sides.At the 107th sitting of the trial held at Freedom Hall in Juba on Wednesday, chief defence counsel Dr. Geri Raimondo Legge replied to the prosecution’s written opposition to an earlier request for recording rights.
Legge explained that the defence wished to run its own camera so that it would possess a complete record of the proceedings.
He noted the presence of two cameras operated by the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) and a third camera that, in the defence’s view, belonged to the prosecution.
“We believe that the two cameras up there belong to SSBC and one near us down, we believe belongs to prosecution. For the sake of equal protection and treatment, we pray that the defence should be allowed to record to have its own,” Legge told the court.
He handed over the original of the defence’s written reply to both the bench and the prosecution.
Lead prosecutor Ajo Ony’Ohisa confirmed receipt of the defence document but observed that it introduced matters not previously raised before the court.
He also rejected the claim that the prosecution maintained its own camera inside the courtroom.
“As prosecution, we acknowledged the receipt of comment of the defence team on our response to their application,” he said.
“We would like to point out that the comment raised new issues. We don’t have a camera in the courtroom and it will be left for the court to decide.”
The judges adjourned the session until Monday, 17 August, when a ruling is expected on the defence application to make independent audio and video recordings.
Machar, listed as the fifth accused, is being tried together with seven others in connection with violence that erupted in Nasir, Upper Nile State, in March 2025.
Government troops sustained heavy losses in the clashes.
The defendants are charged with treason, murder, conspiracy, terrorism, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors assert that fighters linked to Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) and the White Army killed 257 soldiers of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), among them commander General David Majur Dak, during an assault on a military base in Nasir.
They further claim that military equipment valued at approximately $58 million was either destroyed or seized.
Machar and his co-accused have pleaded not guilty to all counts.
