TWO BRITISH TEENAGERS IN COURT OVER COCAINE

THE two British teenage girls who attempted to smuggle six kilogrammes of cocaine from Ghana to the United Kingdom made a brief appearance at an Accra juvenile court yesterday, amidst tight security.
Yasemin Vatansever and Yatunde Diya, both 16, had, earlier in the morning, been discharged by the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal and taken to the court which sat at the Fast Track High Court and constituted by a three-member panel.
Heavily sandwiched by security personnel, the two teenagers were sent to the court in a mini bus and sent straight to the courtroom where only the prosecution, the defence teams and officials from the British High Commission in Accra were allowed entry.
The trial attracted a heavy presence of anxious local and foreign journalists, as well as photographers, who had a hectic time trying to catch a glimpse of the girls. As the journalists were at it, the girls shied away by pulling their cardigans to protect their faces.
Information gathered from reliable sources indicated that the pleas of the girls were not taken and they were remanded to reappear on July 26, 2007.
That is to enable the prosecution to conduct further investigations into the matter.
The prosecution, it was learnt, was led by Mrs Evelyn Keelson, a State Attorney, while the defence team included Mr Wisdom Antonio.
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 was broken in the British media on July 12, 2007.
Reporting on yesterday’s appearance in court, The Daily Mail of London quoted Sabine Zanker of Fair Trials Abroad, a UK-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), as saying that she was pleased the case was being processed so quickly.
"The lawyer in Ghana has reached an agreement to have the trial expedited, which is in the girls' interest," said Ms Zanker.
"Their welfare is, of course, our priority. It will be a struggle to prepare the defence in that time but it is in their best interest."
She said if they were found guilty, the teenagers could face up to 10 years in jail.
Ms Zanker said the girls, who had been in custody since their arrest, were coping well, considering their circumstances.
"They are getting great support from the British High Commission and they are visited once or twice a day. Representatives from the consulate were in court today. Of course, it is a big shock for them," she said.
Earlier this month, Miss Vatansever had told Channel 4 News from prison: "There were basically two boys over here who gave us two bags. We never thought anything bad was inside ... and they told us to go to the UK and drop it off to some boy ... at the airport. It was basically like a set-up. They didn't tell us nothing; we didn't think nothing because basically we are innocent. We don't know nothing about these drugs and stuff; we don't know nothing."