The Martinez Zogo case has not yet opened its debates before the Yaoundé military tribunal. The fifth hearing on July 29th, 2024, ended with a new adjournment, pending the judgment of the central appeals court to which the case had been transferred.
The military Tribunal broke the news, referring to the case before the central appeals court, which has been sitting since June 25th, 2024. This is in a row that saw the attorneys’ appeal denied access to the Martinez Zogo file by the Military Tribunal during the fourth hearing.
According to Maître Claude Assira, counsel for the state of Cameroon, “The military tribunal, upon noticing that an appeal was grated, did what it felt was right: suspending these proceedings for an examination of the case pending the decision from the appeals court.”
The ruling on this appeal at the central appeals court will be on July 18th, 2024. Its ruling is very vital because it would determine whether the lawyers have access to the Martinez Zogo case file or not. Indeed, the military court had already put off the hearing to July 29th, 2024, in anticipation of this decision. This is the fifth adjournment, frustrating some lawyers. “At each hearing, we spend the entire day only for the session to end at 11 a.m. or noon with another adjournment. It’s exhausting,” one lawyer said.
The lawyers, however, say the long proceedings hurt their clients who remain detained. An appeal to the Supreme Court is not out of the question should the Appellate Court throw out their appeal.