Après divers incidents qui se sont produits durant la seconde semaine et notamment vendredi dernier, journée consacrée aux plaidoiries des parties civiles, la défense de l'accusé estime que ce dernier n'a plus droit à un procès équitable et que les jurés ne sont plus à même de juger de manière sereine. Alors que l'avocat général Marianne Lejeune devait prononcer son réquisitoire, Me Martins a réclamé la parole et a demandé à ce que soit actée une série d'incidents qui, selon lui, conduisent à la conclusion que l'accusé ne peut plus être jugé de manière sereine et équitable.
At the start of the third week of the trial of Abdallah Ait Oud, Me Martins provoked an incident on Monday morning at the hearing.
After various incidents were produced during the second week and notably last Friday, the day devoted to the oral arguments for the civil parties, the defence for the accused estimated that the latter no longer has the right to a fair trial and that the jurors were no longer able to judge in an unbiased way. When the Attorney General, Marianne Lejeune, should have been pronouncing her closing arguments, Me Martins claimed the floor and demanded that a series of incidents be recorded which, according to him, lead to the conclusion that the accused can no longer be tried in an unbiased or fair way.
Vidéo sur RTL
L'avocat a d'abord évoqué la diffusion par la chaîne de télévision RTL-TVi, dans son journal de vendredi, d'une pièce à conviction du dossier relative au test du polygraphe auquel l'accusé a été soumis durant l'enquête. L'avocat a demandé à ce que le président Goux utilise son pouvoir discrétionnaire et instruise l'incident avant le réquisitoire afin de savoir dans quelles conditions la chaîne s'est fait remettre la pièce à conviction.
Video on RTL
First of all the lawyer mentioned the broadcast by television channel RTL-Tvi, in its Friday diary, of an opinion piece on the case, concerning the polygraph test which the accused was submitted to during the investigation. The lawyer demanded that the president, Goux, use his discretionary power to investigate the incident before the final summing up to find out under what conditions the channel provided the opinion piece.
Publication controverséeAutre sujet qui concerne la couverture médiatique du procès, la publication dans la presse écrite des explications relatives au témoignage d'un expert avant qu'il soit entendu par la Cour. Me Martins a relevé, de plus, que cet expert s'était exprimé hors audience et a réalisé des commentaires faisant état de la culpabilité de l'accusé.
Controversial publication.
Another subject which concerns the media coverage of the trial, the publication in the printed press of explanations concerning the witness statement of an expert before he was heard by the court. Me Martins revealed further, that the expert was talking before the hearing and referred to the guilt of the accused.
Pressions
La défense d'Ait Oud a aussi fait acter deux systèmes de pression qui auraient été effectués sur les jurés. Me Martins a soulevé que, lors de l'audience de vendredi, Pol et Betty Marchal (les parents d'Ann Marchal) se sont installés sur le banc des parties civiles à proximité des jurés. Ensuite, durant les plaidoiries des avocats, les parents des victimes ont exhibé des photos des victimes en direction des jurés. L'avocat a estimé qu'il s'agissait de pressions et que les jurés ne pouvaient plus juger son client de manière sereine. "Où va-t-on?", a commenté Me Martins. "Je n'ai jamais vu autant de dérives dans un procès. Nous avons accepté de prendre la défense d'Abdallah Ait Oud dans un procès difficile où depuis 2 ans il est présenté comme le coupable idéal. Mais après cette série de dérives, nous estimons qu'il n'existe plus aucune sérénité dans ce procès et que notre client n'a plus droit à un procès équitable".
Ait Oud’s defence also made note of two ways in which pressure had been brought to bear on the jury. Me Martins raised that, during the hearing on Friday, Pol and Betty Marchal (parents of Ann Marchal**) were present on the benches for the civil parties close to the jury. Then, during the lawyer’s oral arguments, the victims’ parents displayed photos of the victims in the direction of the jury. The lawyer estimated that this was pressure and that the jury could no longer judge his client in an unbiased way. “Where is it going?” commented Me Martins. “I have never seen so many slips in a trial. We agreed to take on Abdallah Ait Oud’s defence in a difficult trial, where for two years, he has been presented as the ideal culprit. But after this series of slips, we estimate that there is no clarity existing in this trial and that our client no longer has the right to a fair trial.
Before the start of the afternoon session on Monday, the president of the Liège court of assizes, Stéphane Goux, announced a judgment, dismissing the formal request from Abdallah Ait Oud’s lawyer to suspend the trial and to instruct the court. The court decided that nothing had distracted from the case in the context of publication by some media, of that which concerns the polygraph test submitted to by Abdallah Ait Oud. The court also decided that no trouble had resulted from the presence of the Marchal family on the benches for the civil parties during the day on Friday and that the request from the defence was dismissed. Finally, the president stated that there was no violation of the presumption of innocence by the way in which the trial has unfolded and notably by the way in which it has been reported in the press.
** Pol and Betty Marchal are the parents of Ann Marchal, a victim of Marc Dutroux.
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