Universal Triumvirate v. Emma Amtra (alias Ava Neasa)
 National flag of the Universal Triumvirate | |
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Court | Supreme Court, Universal Triumvirate |
| Date | March 2nd, 2016 |
| Location | Universal Triumvirate forums |
| Judge | Justice Henry Gobar |
| Prosecutor | Chief Attorney Alexander Buchanan |
| Defense attorney | Anthony Clark |
| Defendant | Emma Amtra (official) Ava Neasa (implied) |
| Status | Defendant plead guilty |
| Charge | High treason, espionage |
| Previous case | Universal Triumvirate v. Charles Sessions |
The Universal Triumvirate v. Emma Amtra (alias Ava Neasa), also known as Universal Triumvirate v. Ava Neasa or simply UT v. Neasa was a case in the Universal Triumvirate's Supreme Court. Former UT Head of the Archives Emma Amtra was accused, on February 21, of high treason against the Triumvirate through her spying against the Universal Triumvirate's Executive Branch on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Cinnamon Creek, an accusation elicited when it became evident that she and DRCC General Secretary Ava Neasa shared an IP address (thus why he is named on the arrest warrant). The trial itself was slated to be heard on March 2, 2016, though a plea bargain made by the defendant meant the case never went to court.
Background
Emma Amtra was approved to be Head of the Universal Triumvirate Archives early in 2016. During this time, it is unclear what her contribution to the Executive Branch was.
Arrest
Amtra was arrested on February 21 on charges of high treason and espionage. She was immediately removed from her post as Head of the Archives and prevented from accessing Executive Branch discussions as a date for a trial was set. Originally, the Supreme Court ordered that the trial take place on Friday, February 26, but following an objection from Ms. Amtra, the date was pushed forward to March 2, 2016, to give them more time to gather necessary evidence for the trial.
On the 24th of February, Ms. Amtra "renounced his or her... citizenship", in the hopes of, in the words of the Baltisk Journal, requiring the Universal Triumvirate to seek "to extradite the person on trial".[1] Presiding Justice Henry Gobar ruled that her renunciation of citizenship was "irrelevant".
Committee controversy
A reasonable controversy surrounds Ms. Amtra's insistence that she would be required to appear in front of a DRCC Sub-Committee on the day of her trial. An article in the Baltisk Journal[2] wrote that "A Sub-Committee has been formed to have a scheduled hearing... to investigate the UT’s jurisdiction over the trial and to investigate the General-Secretary’s role in the affair", which was met with anger from the Universal Triumvirate government, who, in an editorial by Chief Attorney Alexander Buchanan in the Daily Micronational,[3] remarked that "not only does the committee not have more authority over the trial than the people calling the trial, but the DRCC’s government’s position is entirely irrelevant to the function of the Triumvirate’s Supreme Court".
The trial
The trial was set to take place on the 2nd of March; however, General Secretary Neasa agreed to plead guilty to all of the charges laid before him, and was convicted. The reparations demanded by the court were a 500 tri fine, as well as banishment until Mr. Neasa renounces his citizenship of the DRCC, which he is not expected to do, meaning the sentence amounts to permanent banishment.
International criticism
Criticism was fractured.
An application by an "Emma Amtra" to gain honorary citizenship in the Empire of Adammia would be, according to Emperor Adam, "instantly rejected",[4] while James Frisch pointed out his "doubt [that] they could enforce any other sentences even with an extradition treaty".
Aftermath
In the aftermath, Ava Neasa was granted citizenship in Førvania, with the Førvanian official site remarking that "the embattled General Secretary" had been "suffering with anxiety" following the case, with Neasa quoted as remarking that "my health has come to a very low point".
In the same article, Neasa was quoted as saying that "I have been receiving all these emails of different micronations expelling me out there [sic.] nations because of the UT Affair", marking another potential avenue of criticism. He was also stripped of his post as an Assemblyman in Beacon City's Municipal Assembly amid security concerns.