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Lawyers in murder trial quit
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 11th November 2008
DEFENCE lawyers of 19 men allegedly involved in the murder of a Pakistani policeman yesterday stunned the court when they withdrew from the case. They claimed the High Criminal Court has not met their repeated requests and they cannot continue with the defence.
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Lawyers in murder trial quit
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 11th November 2008
DEFENCE lawyers of 19 men allegedly involved in the murder of a Pakistani policeman yesterday stunned the court when they withdrew from the case. They claimed the High Criminal Court has not met their repeated requests and they cannot continue with the defence.
The requests included the submission of medical reports, the death certificate of the policeman, the exhumation of his body, the re-examination of the jeep, submission of coloured pictures and videos of the day of the riot.
The defence team took the move despite being urged by the court to submit all their requests in a joint document and to withhold the withdrawal request until the next session.
The court also approved the team’s requests made at the beginning of the trial yesterday, which included transferring the defendants to a different detention centre and give some of the seriously ill men urgent medical care.
The judge adjourned the case to December 1 for the submission of the defence’s requests and for the further study and its developments.
The high profile trial drew crowds of the men’s families, who had to be stopped by riot police outside the Justice Ministry complex.
Paramedics had to be called in to treat two relatives who fainted before the session began.
Extra riot police were also stationed at the entrance to the High Criminal Court, where certain family members were allowed to enter the courtroom one by one.
“I speak on behalf of the entire defence committee when I say I regrettably withdraw from the case,” defence lawyer Ahmed Al Arrayedh told the court.
“We repeatedly requested the court to fast track the medical reports, to improve the situation of the defendants, to urgently re-examine the defendants, but nothing has been done yet.
“We cannot continue looking our clients in the eye as they are frustrated that we cannot help them.
“We feel that we have been made powerless by the court because it keeps ignoring our requests over and over again.
“The men’s situation is inhumane and something has to be done about this.”
The hearing started an hour-and-a-half later than usual after relatives created chaos when the defendants were brought into the courtroom, each handcuffed to a plainclothes officer.
The chaos started when the men started showing their lawyers marks and bruises on their bodies.
Representatives from the team entered the judges’ chambers to negotiate the proceedings of the case after the defendants were ordered to be removed from the courtroom.
Defence lawyer Mohammed Mutawa demanded recalling the defendants into the courtroom before the session begins and removal of riot police from inside the courtroom.
“We told the judge about our main demands and that we will withdraw from the session if they are not met,” defence lawyer Mohammed Tajer told the GDN after he left the judge’s chambers.
The defendants are accused of ambushing a police patrol with Molotov cocktails in Karzakan last April.
Police say Majid Asghar Ali Kareem Baksh, 24, was killed in the brutal attack, while two of his colleagues were injured.
“We had a meeting with the Public Prosecution and they painted a beautiful picture for us that the detainees were in good condition and eating well,” said Mr Al Arrayedh.
“But they are getting worse by the second when we see them and I fear that the next session we attend we will lose two or more of them,” he explained.
Prosecutors submitted documents which stated that Mr Baksh was alive and well until the day of the riot.
This came after defence lawyer Jassim Sarhan provided the Interior Ministry documents to the court last session claiming Mr Baksh died in November last year- not last April. noor@gdn.com.bh
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