[Lauchenoiria]

Eyeing Sheridan suspiciously, Tomás Arenas stood. He was somewhat taken aback when the Kerlian had looked him right in the eye – from what he’d read on Kerlian culture, a Kerlian woman only looked a man in the eye for one of two reasons: either she likes him, or it’s a threat. Either way, it terrified him.

“Your honour, Lucia Casci was Kerlian Secretary of Defence at the time of the Second Lauchenoirian Civil War, and was therefore responsible for the Kerlian war effort. In her position, she oversaw numerous war crimes, including the aforementioned torture, and the terrorising of civilians through the kidnapping of numerous civilian males in Yervia and Ulinaria provinces.

The majority of these were children whose parents had been killed or taken prisoner in the war. The boys later appeared alone in the vicinity of the Kerlile-Lauchenoiria border, disoriented and distressed. Numerous witnesses have described seeing boys forcibly dragged away by Kerlian soldiers, and several incidents were caught on CCTV cameras by Lauchenoirian businesses. Casci has since admitted to giving the order, without the permission of the President or Council. She claims that Kerlile was merely removing the children from the areas most affected by the war.

Casci is also responsible for overseeing the Kerlian war effort in Lauchenoiria, and is therefore directly responsible for the decision to forcibly transport POWs to Kerlile, along with the decision to interrogate and torture prisoners upon capture. She is one of several individuals responsible for the various atrocities carried out by Kerlile throughout the war.”

*

Irene Sheridan, who was responsible for the defence of every Kerlian except Charissa Clarke and Jennifer Hale, continued to make eye contact with Arenas as she stood, enjoying the way it knocked him slightly off guard.

“Your honour, my client Lucia Casci pleads guilty to the charges. She accepts full responsibility for any improper actions carried out by the Kerlian military during the conflict in Lauchenoiria, and admits that she was in command of the Kerlian forces at the time.”

When Sheridan had met with Casci, the woman had been quite subdued. Casci had informed Sheridan that she intended to plead guilty almost immediately. Sheridan knew for a fact that the Council hadn’t coerced her at that time, so either Casci was pre-empting them, trying to get out of the country, or genuinely felt guilt. Whatever the reason, it made Sheridan’s job easier, and she was relieved.