I, likewise, have no genuine issue with the pace. Much as I might grumble that the time prolongs a relatively stressful event, I appreciate the Presiding Arbiter performing their task to the best of their abilities, and dutifully so. With that said, I would similarly like to respond to the Prosecution.
Before I begin to tackle specific statements and arguments, I’d like to begin by saying that the Prosecution appears to once more be acting on information it erroneously believes to possess but is in fact resultant from a failure to verify its own information. My citizenship nation in 2019, Kingdom of Napels II, CTE’d in November of that very same year, as a glance at the Boneyard would have confirmed. Similarly, had my citizenship not lapsed there would have been no reason for me to re-apply for citizenship in 2024. Again, this appears to be a matter of public record that the Prosecution overlooked. The boneyard page can be found here: https://www.nationstates.net/page=boneyard?nation=kingdom%20of%20napels%20ii
And my re-application for citizenship: Citizenship Application Thread - #156 by Kingdom_of_Napels
The Prosecution then seems to spin a story regarding my evidence, which I frankly find nonsensical whichever way it is sliced. If I anticipated that A) Fedele would post that he was infiltrating TEP and B) I did know there was a spy in the channel, I would have simply told him not to make a post in the channel rather than “faking” evidence in “anticipation”. Especially if, as the Prosecution continues to assert, I believed Fedele was infiltrating TEP. And if the accusation is that I am supposed to have faked evidence after, at an unspecified date, I would hope I’d have come up with something that did not leave open the other suggestion the Prosecution seems eager to pursue, that the evidence is real and that I should be on trial for knowledge of subversion against the South Pacific (a charge that, as I was not a citizen of the East at the time, does not appear reasonable to me either). This also does not line up with the discrepancy in the logs of Scardino applying for citizenship again after a mere two months - if there was a genuine infiltration, applying again after a mere two months makes no sense. Similarly it would make no sense for me to explicitly ask regarding Fedele’s whereabouts in late August if I was simply “faking” logs. The Prosecution seems unable to decide which one they believe I am supposed to be guilty of, compounded by their misconception that I was a citizen of the East at the time.
I will rattle off some of the rapidfire stuff the Prosecution then attempts to twist before moving on:
-Any suspicion caused within the East is regrettable, though I’ll point out it feels deeply strange to condemn and blast me for “sowing suspicion” by not shutting down Fedele’s narrative inside LWU’s command while putting me on trial seemingly over your own deep-seated suspicions rooted in my past words rather than any actions. Suspicions that you expressed before the trial began also, I should note.
-Again, I was not a citizen of the East to my knowledge, and there was no suspicious activity against the East to report.
-I didn’t read much more into Lamb Stone’s comment to Dream Killers than talking about DK’s involvement in TEP in 2018.
-The comment on quorum raiding does not indicate any treason. At the time we were pursuing a treaty with the West Pacific. Cutthroat and pragmatic, sure - I don’t deny it - but it doesn’t indicate hostility to TEP. After all, the reason we did not do so was that it would upset TEP, a consideration that does not make the slightest lick of sense if it was considered a hostile region by LWU or myself.
-It’s a little funny to talk about me ordering “actions against TEP” right after showing me denying a suggestion to undertake an action that could be perceived as anti-TEP.
The Khan is, indeed, the uncontested ruler of Lone Wolves United. I think it is slightly silly, however, to translate this into the idea that Fedele’s actions are at all times ordered by the Khan. As the region’s first founder, he commands a great deal of cultural and historical importance, as said, and as such is less inclined to await explicit orders. Again, there were no activities against the East that I either ordered or failed to stop. As for my leadership in Lone Wolves United, both my pride in what I accomplished in its rebuilding during my four year tenure as its Khan and my groaning at my younger self’s stupidity in word and opinion can be true. They are not opposites, nor do they hint at any deceit.
It is somewhat strange to me to see the Prosecution spin defending myself as manipulative, and perhaps even stranger to believe I would be lying about my recollection of half a decade ago being less than perfect. The Prosecution’s interpretation of the law strikes me as bizarre. Collateral suspicion as a result of Fedele baiting a spy - a spy attempting to sabotage and destroy the organisation I led - was unfortunate, but to frame it as treason is an absurd stretch of the word. The Prosecution then tries to spin at a different angle, once again highlighting that the Prosecution appears to be flailing around in an attempt to make a charge stick rather than, as behooves a just legal system, prosecuting a genuine case founded on solid evidence. This angle appears to be that speaking or cooperating with the East’s enemies in a region unrelated to the East, without being a citizen of the East and without undertaking any action against the East, would constitute treason, an angle that falls apart under the slightest scrutiny. Will the Prosecution be putting Xoriet on trial, for conspiring with Fedele to deceive The Python?
The Prosecution, afterwards, seems to return to its initial evidence, seemingly asserting once more that I must be lying about the context I provided. As I’ve explained above, this makes no sense to me, and moreover, it once again highlights how the Prosecution’s narrative is fundamentally incoherent. I’m certain the Conclave understands the difficulty of verifying DMs, especially given the only possible witness in question, but I’m also confident the Conclave understands the absurdity of faking them in whatever manner the Prosecution believes them to be faked. The Prosecution’s repeated assertion, again, that I am supposed to have committed treason also if I was aware of and assisting a subversion attempt against the South Pacific also does not hold up, in my estimation, when I was not a citizen at the time and as such had no obligation to report anything. Perhaps that case would be different if I was a Magister/Minister/Vizier intimately involved in an attempt to subvert a treaty ally by actively assisting a known rogue on an infiltration operation - but again, I was not. Should we have retroactively put A Mean Old Man on trial in 2019 for his prior subversion against Osiris, our then-treaty ally?
I am no legal scholar, as the Conclave is no doubt well aware. However, I can think of no just legal system where a defendant may be convicted retroactively based on nothing but rumours, suspicions, out of context screenshots and unreasonable stretches of legal definitions. I deplore the Prosecution’s attempts at painting my lawful defense as some sort of manipulation, undermining the very essence of a trial to prove guilt. The Prosecution’s case has repeatedly been riddled with factual errors it is bafflingly unable or unwilling to verify based on the public record, such as my alleged membership in the EPSA, the timeline of my predecessors as Khan, the timeframe of my citizenship in the East, and the date of my own resignation as Khan. The Prosecution’s narrative is disjointed, based on malicious interpretation of my words - my words of five years ago, not my deeds - and a framing of my character based on their own suspicions. No crime took place five years ago. No crime took place in the years since. The Prosecution has, at every turn, failed to verify its own information and its sole piece of evidence that indicates a crime might have taken place I believe I have sufficiently recontextualised to show that this was not, in fact, a subversive operation against the East.
I rest my case, having made my closing arguments, and await the verdict.