Monrovia, June 30 -- In the quiet hallways of the Capehart Funeral Home in Monrovia on Saturday, June 28, the somber notes of mourning echoed through the pews as loved ones gathered to bid farewell to Ms. Ruth Dennis Robert.

By Selma Lomax | selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com

Her casket sat adorned with flowers, but one seat remained painfully empty: that of her son, 23-year-old Thomas Etheridge- who, despite repeated appeals, was barred from attending his own mother's funeral.

Etheridge, a suspect in the highly publicized Capitol arson case, has not been convicted of any crime. But in a move that has reignited debate over justice and humanity within Liberia's legal system, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) refused a request to allow...