BY SAM ALFAN.
Director of Public Prosecution Keriako Tobiko has dropped charges against two Iranian prominent lawyers accused of filming Israel embassy in Nairobi.
The DPP through Duncan Ondimu said the prosecution decided to drop the charges after consultation between DPP and Iranian embassy.
Ondimu said the DPP had opted to drop the charges on grounds that prosecution could not sustain it.
The Kenyans who is Irinian embassy driver in Nairobi was also set free after the prosecution also withdrew charges abetting terrorism levelled against him.
The magistrate Joyce Gandani directed the two Iranian be escorted to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on the way to Iran.
Defence lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi urged the court to take judicial notice of cases of foreigners being arrested and charged before proper investigation are conducted.
“The two accused persons are prominent members of legal profession in Iran and there’s no need of subjecting them two unnecessary detention before the investigation were completed” submitted Ahmednasir.
He also said defense was not opposed to the DPP request and asked to be supplied with copies court proceedings since the trial began.
A Nairobi Court last week heard that, the two men and their Kenyan embassy driver are said to have taken the videos clips of Harambee house(President Office), Viglice house (Police headquarters) Jogoo house(National Police Service headquarters) KICC, NSSF,Kenya prison headquarters ,Panafric hotel and Embassy in Nairobi.
This was revealed to the court by the prosecution while opposing bail application by the two Iranian Sayed Nasrollah Ebrahim and Abdolhosein Gholi Safaee who are charged with collecting information to facilitate a terrorist act.
Moses Mboga who is a driver at the embassy is accused of aiding a terrorist act by driving a Toyota Prado belonging to the Iranian Embassy which had two occupants.
Prosecutor Duncan Ondimu opposed the bail application saying that the charges the three persons are facing are serious and should not be released on bail.
The court further heard that the prosecution is yet to recover a laptop that was in possession with the two Iranians.
lawyer AhmedNassir Abdullahi while applying for the accused persons to be releases on bail said that the two Iranians, practice law in Iran adding that they were in country to brief the law firm of AhmeNassir on a case in which two Iranians have been jailed for 15 years on terrorism charges.
“The issue that they were involved in terrorism act is not only absurd but unattainable,” AhmedNassir submitted.
The court heard that it’s not an offence to take pictures of iconic buildings in the country.
The court was also told that the government of Iran will avail the two anytime they are needed.
The two were arrested last Tuesday in an Iranian diplomatic car on Bishops Road in Nairobi, after they had come from visiting Kamiti Prison where they saw two other Iranians who have been jailed for 15 years on terrorism charges.
AhmedNassir urged the court to release the accused persons on bail pending trial arguing that there are no compelling reasons to warrant their detention.
Iran government through it embassy in Nairobi in a letter dated 5 of December, 2016 promised to ensure the two accused person appears in court where needed.
“We hereby give our irrevocable and unequivocal undertaking to ensure the presence of the accused person Dr Seyyed Nasrollahi Ebrahimi, Mr Abdolhossein Safae and Moses Keya Mmboga during the pendency of the trial before this court and further comply with any order or direction by the court” embassy wrote.
Senior Counsel Ahmednasir said he will challenge the decision in the high court.
