Court in Britain finds that medical conditions did not prevent defendant from standing trial

• A court in London found that the defendant’s medical condition did not prevent him from standing trial. Salema al-Salema was acquitted of the charges through medical evidence that showed he was not suffering from a condition that would make him unable to attend court.
• Johnniez pleaded guilty to the charge of murder; the judge found the facts presented in court to be proven.
• Al-Salema said he could not attend court hearings due to the reasons given by his lawyers, who referred to conduct ancillary to murder, which took place between 2011 and 2012 in Damascus.

The court in London found that Salema al-Salema’s medical condition did not prevent him from standing trial. The court cited a medical report that stated, according to AP, that he could be present in court. The judge at Central Criminal Court ruled that the defendant’s illness could not be considered a reason to postpone the trial.

As the judge explained, medical evidence showed that he had a condition that could be treated, and that it was not the case that Salema al-Salema could not stand trial. Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said that although the defendant had been diagnosed with an illness, the facts did not support that he could not attend court.

AP notes that the court heard, as part of the trial, that he had been convicted of criminal offenses, but that he could not be present in court due to his illness. According to BBC, Cheema-Grubb ruled that al-Salema was not prevented from standing trial, as it was possible for him to attend court, and that the diagnosis of motor neurone disease did not mean he could not participate in the trial.

The defendant’s illness was reported to have started in 2011, according to BBC, and that it worsened in 2012. Salema al-Salema said he suffered from symptoms that prevented him from attending court hearings, and that he could not participate in conduct ancillary to murder.

AP reports that Salema al-Salema was convicted along with Omar Al-Homsi, Nizar Fayoumi-AlKhatib and Talhat Dalal for a role in the killings in 2011, as well as along with Mohammed Salim Zahrak Balik, who was also found guilty of conduct ancillary to murder. According to BBC, the defendants’ trial began in 2011 and ended in 2012.

In their submissions, al-Salema, along with Syrian Air Force Intelligence, was alleged to have supported the Damascus Jobar operation during the Arab Spring. AP also reports that Emilie Pottle, who was indicted for a role in the attack on a group of people, and Tom Little, who described the prosecution’s evidence, were present at the trial.

Tags: Crime/Europe/Middle East