PROSECUTOR APPEALS AFTER JUDGE DROPS RAPE CHARGES AGAINST LIBERIAN OVER LACK OF INTERPRETER

The prosecutor in the case of Mahamus Kanneh, a Liberian native charged with repeatedly raping and molesting a 7 year old girl, said Monday that he is filing an appeal of a controversial judge's ruling that dismissed all charges because an interpreter who spoke the suspect's rare West African dialect could not be found.  Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy called the ruling last Tuesday by Judge Katherine Savage improper, adding that his office has requested that an appeal be taken to reverse the court's order.  Savage ruled on July 17 that Kanneh, a Liberian who received asylum in the U.S. and attended high school and community college here, was denied a speedy trial after three years awaiting a court-appointed interpreter who could speak the tribal language of Vai.  

(Rockville, Maryland)