R v Ahmed & Ors (CO 69/2017) [2018] SCSC 8272 (27 September 2018)

R v Ahmed & Ors (CO 69/2017) [2018] SCSC 8272 (27 September 2018)

The court found that the prosecution witnesses were coached by the Deputy Attorney General, affecting the fairness and credibility of the prosecution's case. The evidence was so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable tribunal could safely convict the accused. There was reasonable doubt as to the correctness of the identification evidence, and thus no case to answer for all accused.

Citation
[2018] SCSC 8272
Parties
Prosecution: The Republic; Accused: Ahmed Ahmed & Ors
Court
Supreme Court
Jurisdiction
Seychelles
Judgment Date
27 September 2018
Case Number
CO 69/2017
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Ruling on No Case to Answer Submission
Outcome
Acquittal
Legal Topics
Right to Fair Trial, Witness Coaching, Piracy, No Case to Answer Submission, Identification Evidence
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Right to Fair Trial Witness Coaching Piracy No Case to Answer Submission Identification Evidence

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

The Republic

Prosecution

Ahmed Ahmed & Ors

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Ruling on No Case to Answer Submission

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the accused have a case to answer given allegations of prosecution witness coaching and unreliable identification evidence

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the prosecution witnesses were coached by the Deputy Attorney General, affecting the fairness and credibility of the prosecution's case. The evidence was so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable tribunal could safely convict the accused. There was reasonable doubt as to the correctness of the identification evidence, and thus no case to answer for all accused.

Court Disposition

Acquittal

Orders

  • All six accused acquitted of Attempt to commit an act of Piracy and Piracy.