The first court session of "Ma Quanyou and 39 other senior military officers from Sanyuan Province were charged with crimes against humanity" was not open to the media.
Judge Zhu Zhenglong also issued an injunction to prevent outside influence on the jurors and prohibit any media from reporting on the case in a biased manner. In other words, the trial process of the case can be stated objectively, but any commentary content is prohibited from appearing in the media.
Lu Ming sat in the vice seat, and on the left side of the main control position sat the barrister Gao Zengbao, and on the right side sat Han Annie.
As for the defense, Ma Quanyou and others never came to Wuan, and everything was left to Richard's legal team.
A total of twenty seats were allowed for spectators. After all, some people from the Northern Frontier judicial community or other dignitaries from other places all had their own connections.
After the gavel was struck, the noisy crowd quieted down and Judge Zhu Zhenglong, who was sitting on the bench, announced the start of the trial.
Gao Zengbao stood up and said, "I request to call witness number one!"
"Objection!" The defense's deputy attorney, Attorney Decker, stood up. He was a blond man in his forties, wearing a tuxedo and looking very elegant.
"Your Honor, I think the focus of this case is not how many people were hurt in the war! We all know that there will be innocent victims in any war. I think no one will not feel sad and angry about this. Therefore, peace should be the direction we should always pursue!"
Lai Deke sighed deeply, "The question is, who needs to be held responsible for these victims?"
He walked out of the defense seat, paced a few steps, and sighed, "We all know how poor and backward Anshan is. Most of the people living there are cruelly exploited and oppressed. When the ruler there was assassinated, the area fell into the quagmire of war."
"For this reason, neighboring regions, such as Longbei, sent out peace troops. Of course, our northern Xinjiang region also sent out peace troops. Ma Quanyou and other soldiers who are now slandered as warmongers are members of the peace troops."
"Objection! Ma Quanyou and others are not ordinary soldiers, but warlords who rule the grasslands. They are suspected of committing crimes against humanity! They are not warmongers. The defense is avoiding the main point!" Gao Zengbao stood up immediately, "We did not sue Ma Quanyou and others for being warmongers, so I ask the court not to support the defense's tricks."
Zhu Zhenglong nodded: "Opposition is effective."
Lai Deke shook his head helplessly: "Speaking of warmongers, in Anshan, in addition to our two neighbors in Longbei and Beijiang who sent peace troops, there is also a friend who is not a neighbor, that is, the Heishan people we call, who traveled thousands of miles to send peace troops."
"But have you noticed that since the Montenegrin people came to our four provinces in northern Jiangsu, wars here seem to have broken out much more frequently, and in many wars, one of the two hostile parties is always a Montenegrin soldier?"
Gao Zengbao stood up suddenly: "Objection!"
"Your Honor, my statement is supported by data!" Lai Deke looked at Zhu Zhenglong.
Zhu Zhenglong waved his hand: "Opposition is invalid!"
The defense had an officer who delivered some materials to the jury box.
Gao Zengbao originally wanted to object to this surprise attack, questioning that the "evidence" he was going to present was not given to the defense for review in advance.
Lu Ming waved his hand to stop him.
Zhu Zhenglong definitely agreed to present the evidence in court, and any objection was futile, which would only make his side appear guilty.
In addition, the "evidence" was presented in court because our side opposed the defense's argument, which led to the presentation of these evidences.
Even if Zhu Zhenglong is replaced by Christine, there is a high probability that the evidence will be allowed to be presented in court, which does not count as favoring the defense.
This is a common trap in court battles between prosecution and defense, and Richard's side was well prepared.
The clerk also sent a copy of the materials to the prosecution.
It is a very detailed record listing the wars that took place in the northern border over the past ten years.
The node is also the date when the Black Mountain Brigade was established in Jiangning Province and a cooperation agreement was signed with Nanping Province Governor Gao Baoshan.
As expected, it is obvious that after the Black Mountain Brigade was established and entered Longbei Nanping Road in the four provinces of the Northern Territory, the frequency and intensity of wars in the four provinces of the Northern Territory increased greatly.
The Montenegrin Corps was directly involved in most wars.
The data analysis model and mathematical model it adopts are like accounting reports and look particularly intuitive.
The jurors looked on and began to talk among themselves.
Lu Ming glanced at Richard, who was sitting upright and looked indifferent, but in fact there was a sneer on the corner of his mouth.
This material is not just for the jury to see for this lawsuit.
I am afraid that soon, in the four provinces of the Northern Territory, the Montenegrin Army will be labeled as "warmongers", and it will be difficult to remove the label.
And I'm afraid that even Ren Zhonglin would be scared when he saw this analysis form.
It is one thing to know that you have reached out to the four provinces in the Northern Territory, but after seeing these analytical materials, you may think differently.
Richard didn't just come here to sue me, he came here to ruin my business.
Over there, Lai Deke continued, "Your Honor, fellow jurors, in the war in Songshan Road where the tragic incident took place, it was also the so-called Peace Army of Black Mountain who took the lead in attacking the Peace Army of Northern Frontier!"
Lai Deke bowed slightly and returned to the defense table.
Gao Zengbao stood up and said, "Defense, the peace army in the northern border you mentioned, are you referring to Ma Quanyou's troops? Because as far as I know, the Black Mountain Corps has never attacked the friendly troops in the northern border. Otherwise, would we still be allowed to come here to sue?"
Lai Deke said calmly: "Ma Quanyou's unit is also a member of the Northern Frontier Peace Army."
Gao Zengbao said coldly: "So, the defense is saying that the massacre by Ma Quanyou's troops in Songshan City is a consistent practice of the Northern Frontier Peace Army?"
"Objection!" Lai Deke stood up suddenly.
Gao Zengbao said coldly: "In fact, before the Black Mountain Corps declared war on the Ma Quanyou gang, the Ma Quanyou gang had already carried out a massacre in Songshan City. This gang from the grassland has always lived on horseback. Unlike us, they joined the war army since childhood. Moreover, in history, they have plundered people on a large scale to make slaves on the grassland. If they encounter villages and cities that refuse to surrender, they will massacre them. In this way, they can intimidate the enemy and make anyone who is against them surrender without a fight! We have witnesses and material evidence for all of this!"
Ever since Gao Zengbao called Ma Quanyou's group a "gang", Lai Deke has been loudly opposing it.
Zhu Zhenglong also kept making gestures to indicate that "opposition is effective" and asked Gao Zengbao to stop speaking.
But Gao Zengbao insisted to the end, until Zhu Zhenglong knocked the gavel, "Prosecution, I now rule that you are in contempt of court and temporarily deprive you of your qualification as the prosecution lawyer! After this case is over, I will decide whether to punish you! The court is adjourned now! Wait until the prosecution submits a new list of lawyers before continuing. I give the prosecution 24 hours!"
Lu Ming patted Gao Zengbao's hand. This was a necessary sacrifice. Ma Quanyou's tribe must be defined as a grassland tribe and separated from the jurors' "Northern Frontier people" group.
As for the lawyers sitting in the main control seat, there is naturally no shortage of them on our side.
Zhu Zhenglong could easily get eight or ten penalties.
However, the referee was clearly biased towards the other side. If any one of the goalkeepers (jurors) was bribed, it would be impossible to successfully convict Ma Quanyou and others.
It is impossible to say that people like Ma Quanyou would not secretly attack the jurors.
Although the jurors were randomly selected from Bac Ninh City and the court approved the prosecution's application for strict confidentiality for both the prosecution and the defense, they had to eat and live in the court during the trial.
But Zhu Zhenglong naturally has the detailed information.
So it is not difficult for Ma Quanyou to find the family of a juror, do some things, and then find a way to connect the family and the juror.
This lawsuit is indeed difficult to win.
In fact, in a place like Northern Xinjiang, using the jury system to sue the powerful is a bit of a joke.
Of course, the same is true when the powerful are in power and judges make the decisions.
The core is like this, so it doesn’t matter what the surface is like.
At least the jury system is relatively fair when people of the same class are involved in lawsuits.
While Lu Ming was pondering.
Over there, Richard stood up and smiled at Lu Ming, "Let him come!" He turned around and left surrounded by people on both sides.