[Lauchenoiria]

For Arenas, the case of Jennifer Hale had been a headache from the beginning, mainly because documents referred to her by about four different names.

“Your honour, Councillor Jennifer Hale, known for a time as Sonja Viratnen-Alvarez, was responsible for the illegal attack on the city of Annatown at the beginning of the Second Lauchenoirian Civil War. For clarity’s sake, I am referring to the first attack on Annatown, in which the Lauchenoirian Resistance took the city from government forces. For ease, I will refer to Councillor Hale throughout by her real name, however know that throughout most of this time she acted under the false identity of Viratnen-Alvarez.

At precisely 23:00 on the 12th June 2018, Resistance troops under the command of Hale attacked a variety of key buildings in the city of Annatown, including the Ecanta provincial parliament, several police stations, the airport, and army barracks situated just to the north of the city. This was the act which truly began the war, and happened because of Hale’s willingness to resort to violence.

After her attack on the city, Hale made a statement to the people of Lauchenoiria, urging other nations to invade Lauchenoiria, acting as if she was a citizen of Lauchenoiria as opposed to a Kerlian living under a false identity. She claimed to be serving democracy and opposing Chaher, however her actions led to the death of multiple Lauchenoirians, and began a war that was devastating to Lauchenoirian democracy.”

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Alma Toselli had made headlines in Kerlile by successfully defending clients accused of anti-matriarchal activity, a common charge used against dissidents in Kerlile, and the most notoriously difficult charge to defend against. For her actions, she had later spent several months in one of Kerlile’s most uncomfortable prisons – accused, ironically, of anti-matriarchal activity. Her ordeal had come to an end when she was pardoned by Councillor Hale, and she hoped she could repay the favour.

“Your honour, Jennifer Hale was indeed in command of the Annatown operation. Yet, we reject utterly the claim that it was an ‘illegal attack’ – or, indeed, that it was the act which began the war. The first battle of Annatown took place on the 12th June – but most sources date the war as beginning in May.

The first battle of Annatown was preceded by events such as: Darío Vega, First Minister of Melissa Province being violently shot while clearly unarmed and attempting to speak to reporters. The violent storming and shutting down of a media outlet purely because they criticised Chaher. The forcible repatriation of a number of Kerlian refugees to a regime which likely then tortured them to death.

The first battle of Annatown was a continuation of a war which had been started by Suleman Chaher. It was a lawful action in wartime. As for the battle itself? Casualties were very low. There were no civilian casualties at all. I could count on my fingers how many deaths there were total, and most of them were on the Resistance side. All injuries were treated promptly and all prisoners were well treated.

Jennifer Hale has admitted to using the name Sonja Viratnen, and later the married name Alvarez, and has explained. I will repeat that explanation for the benefit of this court. At the age of thirteen, Jennifer Hale fled from her family home. Her mother and sister abused her because she would not conform to the expectations of a family member of a Kerlian Councillor. She took a false name to prevent them from finding her and forcing her to return to her abusive home.

She supported the pro-democracy group in Kerlile known as Democratic Kerlian State, which was wiped out in the Kerlian civil war. When it became clear that DKS was going to lose, she fled to Lauchenoiria in an attempt to start a new life. She spent her time in Lauchenoiria studying veterinary bioscience and later working in an animal shelter. She fell in love with, and married Josephine Alvarez. And then, tragically, Alvarez was imprisoned by the Chaher regime.

Yet, Hale acted with considerable restraint in the face of this. She advised and commanded the Lauchenoirian Resistance – cautioning the newly formed and unknowledgeable group to avoid unnecessary deaths, treat prisoners well, and protect civilians. If anything, the actions of Jennifer Hale had a positive effect in Lauchenoiria, saving many lives and preventing many more atrocities from occurring.

The actions taken by Jennifer Hale during the first battle of Annatown were not ‘illegal’ – and were, in fact, designed to minimise casualties, protect civilians, and further the cause of protecting democracy in Lauchenoiria from a regime that imprisoned journalists and murdered rival politicians.”