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Families in new court clash
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 13th January 2009
FAMILIES of 19 men accused of murdering a policeman clashed with riot police in the Diplomatic Area yesterday. Traffic was brought to a standstill after the men’s relatives chased a minibus carrying them back to jail following their appearance in the High Criminal Court.
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Families in new court clash
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 13th January 2009
FAMILIES of 19 men accused of murdering a policeman clashed with riot police in the Diplomatic Area yesterday. Traffic was brought to a standstill after the men’s relatives chased a minibus carrying them back to jail following their appearance in the High Criminal Court.
More than 200 of their relatives had protested outside the Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministry for five hours after being denied entry to the court hearing.
However, there was chaos after the two-hour session ended when protesters pursued a minibus carrying the suspects back to prison.
When it stopped at traffic lights outside the Crowne Plaza, the defendants pried open the minibus windows, as their families tried to get a glimpse of them and reach in to touch them.
However, riot police intervened and ended up exchanging blows with the male relatives.
Two journalists taking pictures of the clashes were also injured and riot police fired rubber bullets into the air to bring the crowd under control.
There was earlier confusion in the court when 18 lawyers representing the suspects turned up to find their clients had been appointed 18 new attorneys.
The court appointed the new lawyers because the original legal team boycotted a previous hearing, but dismissed the newly-appointed lawyers once the original team turned up.
During the hearing, chief medical examiner Dr Mohammed Saleh Fakhri confirmed that Pakistani policeman Majid Asghar Ali Kareem Baksh, 24, died from a head injury he sustained as he fell out of his patrol car after it came under attack in Karzakan last April.
He fell as he tried to get out of the patrol car when it was ambushed by a mob hurling stones and Molotov cocktails, fracturing his skull and causing internal bleeding.
However, he added Mr Baksh suffered a second “non-fatal” skull fracture after he was hit on the head by a stone.
“This injury was not fatal, but was definitely an accelerant which could have possibly contributed to internal bleeding caused by the major injury,” he explained.
He added Mr Baksh suffered 10pc to 18pc burns after his patrol vehicle burst into flames while he lay dying next to it, but denied they were caused by the vehicle’s exhaust as claimed by defence lawyers.
Dr Fakhri also said drag marks on the victim’s body were the result of him being moved by his colleagues.
Meanwhile, defence lawyers claimed forensic specialists’ testimony given yesterday was contradictory, after one claimed they arrived at the scene before 9.30pm and the other claimed they arrived after 10pm.
The defence team submitted a list of requests to the court, including a copy of the records from the hearing they boycotted, a forensic report on the police jeep and the transferral of their clients to a different detention facility from the Criminal Investigation Directorate, in Adliya.
Judges adjourned the case until February 16 to review the defence arguments and provide lawyers pictures of Mr Baksh’s body.
They also ordered prison officials to grant lawyers access to the defendants, as well as transfer them to a different facility. noor@gdn.com.bh
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