TWO BRITISH TEENAGERS MAKE SECOND APPEARNCE IN COURT

THE two British teenage girls who attempted to smuggle six kilogrammes of cocaine from Ghana to the United Kingdom made a second appearance at an Accra juvenile court yesterday on charges relating to attempting to export and possession of narcotic drugs.
As usual, the two teenagers were brought under very tight security.
Both local and foreign journalists and photographers who thronged the court premises very early did not see how the suspects entered the courtroom.
However, when the suspects were leaving after the morning session, they were found sandwiched by security officials while they had covered their faces.
As if to deceive the media, three ladies were seen with their faces covered and being whisked away into a waiting car.
Although the court sat in camera and officials were tight-lipped over what transpired in court, it was learnt from sources that the pleas of the girls were taken and some witnesses called to testify for the prosecution.
The details of their pleas were not known but since the trial is ongoing, it is presumed that either they pleaded not guilty to the charges or that a plea was entered for them.
Journalists learnt further that the court would reconvene later in the afternoon to continue with the case.
The two teenagers, Yasemin Vatansever and Yatunde Diya, both appeared before the court on July 18, 2007 after they had been discharged by the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal.
Vatansever and Diya were arrested at the Kotoka International Airport by officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) on July 2, 2007, and apart from their brief appearance in court at the Regional Tribunal, nothing was heard of them until the news broke out in the British media on July 12, 2007.
Their appearance in court generated a lot of hullabaloo, especially after the photographs of the girls been used by the press.
There had been condemnation and threat of legal action against media practitioners who did not respect the rights of the girls because as juveniles, they were protected under the law from being exposed.