As this
excellent Cambodia Daily article reveals, Action Pour les Enfants (APLE) made
it clear in court yesterday that the NGO does not want David Fletcher to
receive a fair trial.
With
good reason, Thierry Darnaudet and Samleang Siela fear that a fair trial, in
which the alleged victim was obliged to testify and be cross-examined, would
result in Mr Fletcher being found not guilty.
The
resultant publicity would not be helpful to APLE.
Questions
would arise about other convictions that have been secured under similar
circumstances.
In May 2011, David Fletcher, now 71, was convicted in absentia of rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison on the basis of a statement from Yang Dany, a girl he knew through his unregistered NGO, which assisted poor families living at a Phnom Penh dumpsite.
British convicted rapist David Fletcher arrives at the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh on Monday. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
After being extradited to Cambodia in October 2013 and sent directly to prison, Mr. Fletcher missed the 15-day deadline to file an appeal, and has therefore been unable to present his case in court, including a medical examination by a court-appointed doctor who found that Ms. Dany remained a virgin after the two alleged rapes.
In court Monday, Mr. Fletcher and his lawyer, Lim Eang Ratanak, explained how a deputy prosecutor handling the case had met with the defendant on October 17, 2013, to read him the verdict for the first time—thus activating the 15-day deadline—and arranged to meet him again before it had expired to get a decision on an appeal.
“I never saw the prosecutor again,” Mr. Fletcher told the court.
After 10 days, he said, he wrote a letter requesting an appeal and gave it to the chief of Phnom Penh’s PJ Prison, Hou Puthvisal, who pledged to see it reach the court.
“It transpired that the prison chief failed to deliver my appeal. He has written a statement to my lawyer saying he had forgotten to deliver my appeal,” Mr. Fletcher said.
Mr. Eang Ratanak, the lawyer, declined to show reporters the alleged document and also declined to comment.
Mr. Fletcher also claims he was not in the country on March 15 and March 22, 2010, the dates of the alleged rapes.
San Sony, a lawyer from anti-pedophile NGO Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) who is representing the victim, and Hing Bunchea, the Appeal Court prosecutor, urged the judges to disregard Mr. Fletcher’s claims and focus solely on the fact that he had missed the deadline. “The time to appeal has passed,” Ms. Sony said. “The defendant is just making excuses.”
In October last year, Ms. Dany and her mother, Keang Sokun, recanted the rape allegations to reporters, saying that APLE had told them they would receive $5,000 compensation if they made the claims.
“APLE knew that Dany was not raped,” Ms. Sokun said.
Outside court Monday, Ms. Sony conceded that the doctor’s report suggested Ms. Dany was not raped but said the facts of the case were irrelevant at this point.
“I deny to focus on this fact of the case because my director…didn’t allow me to,” she said. “This case only involves procedure.”
blomberg@cambodiadaily.com, sovuthy@cambodiadaily.com
One of the key documents that would be presented at a fair trial is the doctor's report, commissioned by the court, which reveals Yang Dany's hymen to be intact after the alleged rapes. Below is just one half of one page of an 8 page report that APLE's lawyer insists is irrelevant:
Ms Sony also believes it to be irrelevant that David Fletcher was not in Cambodia at the time that the alleged rapes took place.
Needless to say, no representative of the British Embassy in Phnom Penh, no representative of the British Commonwealth & Foreign Office was present in court yesterday to observe the proceedings.
Finally the Coconut is rolling.
ReplyDeleteNow even the khmer440 blog, which was once spearheading Fletcher's arrest and incarceration, sees the case in a different light like: "he appears to have been stitched up by an NGO".
Meanwhile APLE's Lawyer claims that all points that Fletcher raised to get a fair trial are "irrelevant" because the deadline of 14 days for an appeal of the original sentence had passed before he submitted the appropriate paperwork to the court. The reason for this according to David Fletcher is that the Chief of the Phnom Penh PJ Prison, Hou Putvisal had failed to deliver Fletchers appeal.
Meanwhile APLE's Lawyer Ms. Sony had this to say:
Outside court Monday, Ms. Sony conceded that the doctor’s report suggested Ms. Dany was not raped but said the facts of the case were irrelevant at this point.
“I deny to focus on this fact of the case because my director (Samleang Seila ?)…didn’t allow me to,” she said. “This case only involves procedure.”
At least we now have little doubt about APLE and it's relationship to human rights let alone justice.
When will APLE and it's henchmen be prosecuted ?
Framed! Sent to prison for getting in the way of people who's agenda was not to help the kids; rather to make money from the suffering of others.............and to inflect suffering on David Fletcher was not an issue that would bother them;
ReplyDeleteMy Friend has been in prison for a long time and APEL does not care about whether he is innocent or guilty..he missed the deadline to appeal..........I cannot tell you how this statement angers me.
Does APEL care that so many of the kids they claim to be protecting have gone to bed hungry because they framed the one person who was helping them.............I can hardly focus on this comment as I am so upset at the way these people seem to think. I Pray that David is granted a new hearing and that the people who are responsible for putting him in prison will have to account for their actions............in this life...........Wes
Kudos to the Cambodia Daily for finally publishing this story, thou a few of the facts may be a little off. What should be irrelevant is what they call the first trial! The court violated so many of it's own rules that the entire conviction should be thrown out! APLE should be on trial for there role in this.
ReplyDeleteDid the attorneys from APLE know the facts of the medical report during the first trial and at that time believe the facts to be irrelevant???
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous 6.28
DeleteAPLE, along with CEOPS, SISHA, Scott Neeson, the British Embassy in Cambodia and the Cambodian ‘Anti Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department’ ALL had access to the doctor's report that declared Yang Dany to be a virgin, her hymen intact, BEFORE the secret trial was held whilst Mr Fletcher was languishing in a Thai prison.
All of those who had been investigating Mr Fletcher (thanks to scuttlebutt spread by Peter Hogan and Scott Neeson) would have known, at the time of the trial, that there was a significant problem with the prosecution's case.
Did any of the speak out? Did any of them have doubts about the veracity of the rape charges given Yang Dany's intact hymen? No, they were all, by then, so deeply committed to the notion that Mr Fletcher was guilty that to back down would have led to a loss of credibility.
So, they all buried their heads in the sand, turned a blind eye and said nothing. Such was their commitment to human rights.
I will have more (much more) to say about this in due course but in the meantime, yes, APLE and the others knew (or had very good reason to know) that the rape charges were false BEFORE the 2011 'trial'.
APLE has confirmed what we have all suspected for a long time. It is not concerned with the human rights of the men it accuses of sex crimes. If they do not get their forms in to the court in time, fuck them. Who gives a shit if they are guilty or innocent. They didn't get their forms in on time so they deserve 10 years in jail for this omission, with no opportunity to have the evidence agains them tested in court. If APLEW had any credibility before yesterday, it has lot it with this stupid lawyer's comments.
ReplyDeleteIs APLE a criminal organisation that occasionally catches genuine pedophiles? Or is it an organisation that actually catches plenty of pedophlies but must, every now and then, to keep its arrest and conviction rate up, set up men like David Fletcher?
DeleteIf APLE has a strong case to present to the court that Mr Fletcher raped Yang Dany, why not allow a trial to go ahead and win on the basis of the evidence? A rhetorical question since the key witness has been sent (or was it trafficked?) to China, so APLE would not have a case and Fletcher would win. Which would mean that APLE would lose – lots of dollars and credibility. APLE can’t afford to allow this to go to trial. Fletcher is fucked, unless he can match whatever APLE can afford to pay to keep this out of court.
ReplyDeleteIn America, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court of law; (sounds better than it actually is)
ReplyDeleteDavid was innocent and now that the news paper is finally getting on board to find the real story here.........others may be proven to be victims of the corrupt system; The Daily is the paper to break this story wide open...........the paper has an obligation to make this all front page..........to expose those who are exploiting the children, poor families and the criminals who have done this horrible crime..............and its not the people who have been accused of the crime.
Hang in there everyone..........including the news paper..........keep up the pressure.......this is bigger than and more important than anything else right now.
I am so pleased that the Cambodia Daily has decided to report the facts about David's false imprisonment. I trust that the newspaper will continue reporting on this matter to the conclusion. I hope that his case will lead them to investigate other similar cases and the apparent fraudulent activities of APLE and others. The newspaper could assist greatly in combating the widespread corruption in Cambodia, and I applaud their courage and integrity for the initial step in reporting on David's court hearing.
ReplyDeleteI find it appalling that nobody from the British Embassy attended David's court hearing. The indifference shown to David has greatly diminished my opinion of the British government,
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the British embassy will have as much egg on its face as apel and others who are involved in this frame up.........why was a good passport destroyed; at whose orders? Why would anyone do such a thing.........unless it proved that David was out of the country at the time of the alleged crimes! Could it be that someone in the embassy is also involved in the cover up and framing of an innocent man? Sure looks like it;
DeleteWhen the truth comes out.......these people will wish they had a place to hide..........in Thailand and Cambodia; People of importance now may very well be needing a friend; This may very well reach England and that may be the reason the British embassy stayed away. Seems a lot of people are afraid for David to go to court with the information he has.............a lot of people stand to lose a lot.
APLE has laid its cards on the table. It has nothing other than the fact that Mr Fletcher got his paperwork to the court late. Is this sufficient reason see a man locked up for ten years, without the benefit of a trial? I am sure that APLE can afford to pay whatever is required to see to it that the judges refuse Mr Fletcher’s request for a trial. Will anyone other than the Cambodia Daily come to his defense if his request is refused? The British Embassy is obviously a dead loss. Human rights organizations like Licadho and Adhoc?
ReplyDeleteMr Fletcher’s paperwork! Significant or a red herring?
DeleteIn broad brushstrokes:
(1) 17th October 2013, on his arrival back in Cambodia, a deputy police prosecutor reads Mr Fletcher the verdict from the secret trial held two years earlier.
(2) Mr Fletcher is given 15 to file an appeal.
(3) With no access to a telephone or mail services and hence no easy way of getting a document to the court, Mr Fletcher misses the 15 days deadline. His paperwork arrives late.
(4) APLE, an NGO that should be committed to human rights (including the right to a fair trial) insists that the lateness of Mr Fletcher’s paperwork is sufficient reason to allow a possibly innocent man to spend 10 years in jail.
(5) I write ‘possibly innocent’ because an accused person cannot be found guilty in Cambodia unless or until s/he had had an opportunity to present a defense, to call witnesses, cross-examine the person bringing the charges to the court and so on.
(6) Mr Fletcher was denied this right when the 2011 trial was held in secret.
That Mr Fletcher has a good deal of evidence in support of the proposition that he is innocent is not my point here. It is that APLE does not respect Mr Fletcher’s right to a fair trial and has no qualms about falling back on ‘late paperwork’ as justification for denying Fletcher natural justice.
The question arises: “Is this standard APLE operating procedure?”
The bigger question is:
“Are there other men in jail in Cambodia, not because they have been found guilty on the basis of evidence tested in court, but on the basis of ‘later paperwork’ or some other kind of legal trickery?”
This question is, in the long run, much more important than the fate of one man – Mr Fletcher.
The Royal Cambodian government has outsourced investigations into sexual crimes to both APLE and the Cambodian Children’s Fund’s ‘Child Protection Unit’. Allowing NGOs such as these to breach the human and legal rights of men accused of sex crimes sets a dangerous precedent – especially since such NGOs
require a constant stream of convictions to both justify their existence and keep donor dollars flowing into their accounts.
The ideal scenario for Cambodia would be that the CPU and APLE are so effective at their jobs that their services are no longer required by the Cambodian government. But this would deprive them of the handsome income both NGOs earn through being able to convince donors and sponsors, on a regular basis, that their success rate is so good that the deny them donor dollars would be tantamount to allowing men to exploit women sexually with no-one to protect them.
Why, after all these years, can the Cambodian police not take charge of investigations into sex crimes committed in this country? Do the likes of APLE and the CPU envisage a day when their work is done and the Cambodian police no longer need to be treated like foolish children who cannot conduct investigations of their own but are as capable as the foreigners who are in the country earning very good money for doing the job.
Now that APLE has made clear that it has no respect for Mr Fletcher’s legal or human rights but wishes to deny his a trial on the basis of ‘later paperwork’ questions arise regarding the close relationship between APLE and LICADHO – the latter being a human rights organization that should be advocating on behalf of all those accused of crimes to be allowed a fair trial and not have this right abrogated for the most trivial of reasons.
This raises the question: When will we see a fair trial for Matt
DeleteHarland ? He, too was stitched up by APLE and it's founder Thierry
Darnaudet in particular !
And hello Naly Pilorge of Licado (the Human Rights denying NGO) that claims to have "other findings" on the David Fletcher case. I hope that
Naly Pilorge, too will face the bright lights of Journalists taking her picture on day.
The precise wording of Naly Pilorge’s email, of which I have a copy, is as follows:
DeleteDear XXX,
Thanks for your email. We are following the case, our findings differ from James Ricketson but we cannot reveal the details of the case to protect the parties involved, thanks.
Naly
Naly Pilorge
Director
If Naly Pilorge and/or LICADHO are ‘following’ this case why were nether she nor any representative of LICADHO in court on Monday?
I have arrived at no findings. It is up to a court to find Mr Fletcher innocent or guilty on the basis of evidence presented to it.
What I have done is identify a lot of evidence suggestive of Mr Fletcher’s innocence that should be tested in court. So too should Naly Pilorge’s ‘findings’ be tested in court. Three questions arising from Ms Piliorge’s email:
(1) Why, in the court documents (of which I have all) is there no evidence from either Ms Pilorge of LICADHO in relation to this case?
(2) If and when does Ms Pilorge anticipate sharing the ‘details’ of her ‘findings’ with the Cambodian Justice system?
(3) Which parties are being ‘protected’? Is it Ms Pilorge’s job to ‘protect’ parties when, in the process of withholding evidence from the court, she may well be complicit in seeing an innocent man die in jail?
My perception of what NGOs in general stand for has changed over the past 10 years living in Cambodia.
ReplyDeleteWhen I arrived in the country I believed that these people were really here to help the Khmer people and the entire country get back on it's feet.
There wasn't a day that the media did not report human rights abuses,
sexual child abuse and the rampant corruption here, based on NGO Press Releases.
Not a single line was ever published about the corrupt behaviour of
NGOs. A corrupt government attracts funds. Corrupt NGOs do not.
The scam worked so well that many NGO founders, most of which have no degree in social work, child care or even human rights, got very rich and outright arrogant in their behaviour.
More than 5000 NGO in Cambodia have NOTHING to say on the issue that a man was and still is locked up for 10 years. They have nothing to say about the fact that the entire process in court inflicted on Mr Fletcher would not even be acceptable in a country like North Korea.
The US and UK Governments prefer to turn a blind eye to cases like Mr Fletcher’s while condemning the country for every bit of rat shit when it comes to violations of human rights abuses by the Cambodian government. And they try to directly interfere with Cambodia’s internal affairs , as we've witnessed on the NGO Law (LANGO) issue. These governments are all hypocrites with double standards.
I have no doubt in my mind that lots and lots of money will now change hands again to prevent David Fletcher having a fair trial, let alone walk free. My hope is that the amount of cash will not be enough to further corrupt the justice system here and thereby end a decade of harassment and living in constant fear of being set up by APLE if you live with a Khmer woman and a child.
Let me get this straight
ReplyDeleteThe victim says she wasn’t raped.
The victim’s mother says her daughter was not raped.
The medical report says the victim was not raped.
Naly Pilorge says she has evidence that David Fletcher is guilty of rape but won’t share it with anyone, including the court.
Scott Neeson says he has evidence that David Fletcher was grooming young girls but wont share it with anyone, including the court.
The trial was held in secret while David Fletcher was in Thailand.
The judges explained away the victim’s intact hymen by saying that it must have grown back.
David Fletcher’s paperwork for an appeal arrives at court late so his appeal is rejected.
Action Pour les Enfants agrees that Yang Dany may not have been raped but, hey, who cares. He got his paper work in late so fuck him!
Am I missing something here?
No, you're missing nothing. That's it in a nutshell.
ReplyDeleteGetting David Fletcher locked up helped Scott Neeson line his own pockets by removing DF from his turf. Nesson is a highly jealous man. H would have seen DF as competition and as a threat to his gold mine. He needs to be the only one, the Hollywood hero riding in on his white horse to rescue little kiddies in distress. And then he stole the spotlight by saying he was saving the so called victim ‘Dany’ even though the story was a lie. One the news story faded so did Neeson’s interest in Dany. He did nothing to help her. But it did line the pathway to Neeson’s very questionable new venture with dirtbag runaway cop James McCabe setting up the Child Protection Unit. As for the girl Dany, what happened to her? Well she was sold by her mother and smuggled into China via Vietnam. And no one has heard from her since. We can only imagine where and how she might be living now. Most likely in a brothel. Notice how Neeson and the other NGOs say nothing about Dany. They all know what happened to her and say nothing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a load of bullshit and scuttlebutt - what evidence do you have that Dany was sold by her mother and is most likely in a brothel now. Seriously, are you retarded or just another one of these fucking morons who gets off on writing bullshit!
DeleteDear Anonymous 8.26
DeleteI don't know whether this is bullshit or not but. On the basis of what I know it is conjecture. What I do know is that:
(1) When I visited Yang Dany and her mother in their home, to film an interview with Sekun about her experiences during the Khmer Rouge years (not about the 'rape'), Yang Dany told me that (a) she wanted to testify in court and (b) that she had been told by APLE not to. At the time it was clear, from their home, that they were very poor.
(2) A couple of weeks later I learned that Yang Dany was on her way to China. With or without a passport, I asked. I could not get an answer to this question.
(3) It was not easy for Yang Dany to get across the border into China. I know more about this but it is best kept to myself for the time being.
(4) Yang Dany now has, according to the best information I have, a Chinese husband.
Anything else I could write about what she is doing in China and why she is there would be conjecture. However, she is not in Cambodia and not in a position to either testify in a trial or to talk with journalists. In short she is not in a position to either conform or deny that the story she told me and other journalists about not being raped is true.
Without Yang Dany in court APLE doesn't have much of a case, especially given the doctor's report that she was a virgin still after the alleged rapes.
Im not buying all this. Im not going to accept that all of these NGO's and the CEOP's police would all conspire to get Fletcher looked up and then when it comes to Fletcher trying to get a re-trial that they just sit on their hands and say nothing. There is more to it. I think they are keeping their cards close to their chest and waiting to see if the courts do give Fletcher a re-trial and if they do, they will then bring out evidence that refutes Fletchers claims that he is some kind of angel. And a re-trial is going to be hard - I heard the following from some people who know more than I - the General in charge of the trafficking unit that handled the investigation is now dead from cancer, his deputy is also dead, some of the ceops police who were involved in the case have left the police, some ngo people have now left the ngo sector and are not even in cambodia anymore etc etc. not sure its going to be so easy to unwind everything. What a good scenario may be is that the courts reduce the sentence and release Fletcher today and he gets on a plane and just gets out of the god for saken place.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that one needs to think in terms of a 'conspiracy' to account for what has happened. I myself have never once used the word.
DeleteAs I have written elsewhere, that the British Embassies in Cambodia and Thailand worked with the Thai authorities to have Fletcher arrested makes sense if they had strong evidence that he was guilty of rape. The question is:
"What evidence did they have at the time that Fletcher had raped Yan Dany? One week or so before Fletcher was even charged?"
Where the 'conspiracy' that you are referring to kicks in is when a lot of people involved in Fletcher's pursuit discovered that Yang Dany's hymen was intact. At this point, at the very least, all of the investigating bodies should have not only realised that maybe they had made a mistake but that Fletcher deserved a proper trial in order than rumour, scuttlebutt and innuendo be separated from verifiable facts. This they did not do. They all turned a blind eye and do so to this day.
As for these investigating bodies "keeping their cards close to their chest" are you aware of what you have written here?
Why did these investigating bodies not present their evidence to the trial in 2011? Why did they hang on to it until Mr Fletcher has a proper trial - if indeed he ever has one?
The withholding of evidence is an offence in itself - as is the destruction of evidence.
As for the possibility of a reduced sentence, I can assure you that Mr Fletcher is not interested. He wants a trial. He wants to walk from prison an innocent man. If I were in his position I am not sure I would be quite as uncompromising as Mr Fletcher but I would certainly not be happy acquiring my freedom on the condition that I tacitly agreed to have committed a crime I did not commit.
This experience has destroyed Mr Fletcher's relationship with his family and if there is any chance of repairing the damage done it can only occur if he returns to the UK an innocent man.
Let me please clarify my comments - i dont know personally if they have extra evidence but I just can't swallow that they have nothing. I still hope to believe that all of these groups including British government didn't just allow an innocent person to go to jail. If they have then i would say that t is bigger than Nelson Mandela and I dont want to believe that is true. As for Fletcher making a stance and only wanting to be released as an innocent man - I wish him luck on being so righteous but if it was me, I would do anything to get out of prison and back to the UK and then once there, I could really make some noise about his issues, if they are in fact proven to be true.
DeleteAnonymous 9.20
DeleteThanks for the clarification but I believe it is unethical (and probably illegal) to sit on evidence as Neeson, Pilorge and possibly others have. If they had evidence implicating Mr Fletcher in rape back in 2010 they should have presented it to the appropriate Cambodian authorities back in 2010 and not waited five years to do so.
Imagine being in the position where Neeson and Pilorge claim to have evidence that you are guilty of rape but refuse to share it with the relevant authorities when your trial is held! Without you being present!
You are found guilty despite the lack of evidence and Naly Pilorge says she has evidence and then someone else argues that this evidence will be revealed at a re-trial five years down the track. How would you feel? I know how I would feel!
It is bad enough that Naly Pilorge claims to have evidence that she refuses to share with anyone. It is made much worse by the fact that she is the Director of Cambodia's most prominent human rights organisation - LICADHO.
If Mr Fletcher returns to the UK a guilty man he will be placed on a sex register and his family will never speak to him again. And who is going to believe a convicted rapist? Or care about his pleas that he is innocent? No-one.
This is the issue - I can't swallow that these guys would withhold any evidence that would show Fletcher being guilty - that just doesn't make sense. Is there any news on Fletchers request - when will they make a decision?
ReplyDeleteThe decision will be made on 25th Sept.
DeleteAnd, yes, why on earth would Scott Neeson and Naly Pilorge withhold evidence from the 2011 trial and only be prepared to bright to light in the Appeal court - in the unlikely event that an appeal is heard?
This is a no brainer. APLE has too much to lose allowing this case to proceed and nothing to gain. The only question is how much it will cost APLE to get the outcome they want on 25th. Mr Fletcher is a dead man walking.
ReplyDeleteI like your conspiracy theory but its based on zero evidence. If Aple was going to pay judges to make this go away, they woulnt of let it build up to what it is today and allow media to start to get involved. They certainly wouldn't want it to go to a re-trial and then pay because it would cost too much. They would of done it on the quiet and behind closed doors involving the other Khmer players i.e. prosecutors etc
ReplyDeleteOne dos not need to be a conspiracy theorist to know how justice is administered in Cambodia.
DeleteIn fact, APLE has done everything it could to obstruct the course of justice since I became an advocate for Mr Fletcher's right to a fair trial a year ago. I suspect that it is only persistence on my part that has convinced the Minister of Justice to intervene and request of the courts that Mr Fletcher be granted a hearing - as occurred ion Monday.
What will happen next I have no idea. Any trial held in accordance with the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure would surely see Mr Fletcher walk free - especially since the only witness for the prosecution now lives in China with her 'husband'.
A trial in which Mr Fletcher walks free would be embarrassing for Mr Fletcher and many others, but not fatal. The dog would bark and the caravan move on.
If the judge on the 25th allows a re-trial because he believes that the evidence is wrong, then what he is basically saying is that the prosecutor and judges before are complicit in corruption. Thats not going to happen. It would open a tin of worms that they dont want. You can bet your bottom $$$ that there is already discussions behind the doors on how to play this with an even bat. Remember the saving face culture is at play here. My bet is the result will be that the judge rejects the request to re-trial based on length of time served but will offer a reduction in sentence with release as of the 25th september. that way the courts dont have to admit a cock up and fletcher can walk away. it will be up to fletcher to play the next shot but if he doesn't take it then the courts have done their bit and aren't involved anymore
ReplyDeleteI agree. A trial opens a can of worms that neither the Cambodian judiciary or APLE would want to see opened. On the other hand, given that the weigh of evidence suggests that Mr Fletcher did not rape Yang Dany, an Appeal Court refusal to allow him to present his case in a fair trial (Mr Fletcher has still not eve once been interviewed by police or a Prosecuting Judge) would not show the Ministry of Justice in a good light.
DeleteI hope that you are right in the face-saving possibility that you have presented. I also hope, proud and stubborn man though he is, that Mr Fletcher accepts this as the best possible outcome for him.
All who were a party in the false imprisonment of David must be aware that James plans to publish a book and film a documentary about David's situation. I should think that they would be doing everything in their power to right the wrong they have committed in order to look a little better in the eyes of the world. Only a court declaration of innocence, with no objections from any entity would improve opinions of those involved. If APLE continues fighting against a fair trial fpr David and if they are able to bribe the court, they will lose much more in funding than they have spent when their corruption is revealed to the world.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me that this appeal court would be cutting their losses by granting a 'retrial', rather than having their stitch up taken before the Supreme Court and get exposed by the publicity that would generate!
ReplyDeleteAPLE isn't looking too good right now.
The love of money is the root of evil! Justice I vote!
ReplyDeleteI pray the book and the movie open the eyes of many. Go James! Thank you!
David's story has already opened my eyes!