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Today starts a two day session as the next steps in the murder trial of Sarah Groves. Vic Groves, Sarah's father, has given Express his thoughts on where they are at with the trial, as its 127th scheduled hearing begins.
On 27 August 2018 it was 2000 days since our wonderful daughter Sarah was brutally killed on board a houseboat in Kashmir. Little did we know at the time what lay in store for us.
Within two months, the court case commenced in Srinagar of the man accused of her murder. The very first hearing in the case State of India v Richard de Wit was on 3 June 2013 – slightly less than two months after Sarah died.
The fact that the case had started so soon after the event was encouraging. Sadly, events since then show the Indian, but most specifically the Kashmiri, system of justice to be completely unfit for purpose.
It was, and still is, far from clear whether Richard de Wit, a giant of a Dutchman, is guilty. All the evidence against him is circumstantial. There is an equal level of circumstantial evidence against other people, none of whom were investigated by the Police at the time. This uncertainty hangs over us constantly and means that we must have total confidence in the outcome of the trial – whichever way it goes.
Unfortunately, we do not have that level of confidence or anywhere near. And neither do many other people associated with the trial, which is currently in its second court, under its third judge, fifth prosecutor and fifth defence counsel.
This week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the court will attempt to convene for the 127th and 128th occasion. Only about 25% of all hearings have been productive - the remainder have made no progress for a variety of reasons including civil unrest, witnesses not turning up, lack of legal representation for the accused, procedural matters associated with the mental health of the accused and so on.
Of the 46 witnesses listed for the prosecution, 16 have still to be heard, At the current rate of progress the trial will take a long time to reach a conclusion. The witness currently on stand has been there since November 2017 and not a single witness has been fully examined and cross-examined this year to date.
As we often say to each other, Sarah’s death could not have happened in a worse place. No self-respecting legal system would allow a murder trial to be conducted with such disdain. We have tried every way possible to influence the way matters are being handled -all to no avail.
Pictured: The man accused of her murder, Richard de Wit, and Sarah Groves.
We have met with the British Government, we have tried to open up a dialogue with the Dutch Government;,we have communicated directly or indirectly within political, legal and diplomatic spheres in India (Delhi) and Kashmir, we have written to everyone seemingly in a position to help but all to no avail.
Our best bet has come via the States of Guernsey and most specifically Jonathan Le Tocq. Through his offices we have been able to meet, and indeed have dinner with, His Excellency the High Commissioner for India. His Excellency is the most senior representative of the Indian Government in the United Kingdom.
It is too early to learn whether or not he can influence matters but he is undoubtedly ‘our best bet’. Meanwhile the trial goes on without the merest hint of closure on our part.
It may be more than 2000 days since Sarah died but we are no nearer to knowing what happened that terrible night now than we were then. Will we ever give up on our quest for justice? No way.
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