Groves trial bogged down by deadly unrest

Tuesday 18 December 2018

Any hearings that might have taken place this week to progress the murder trial of Sarah Groves have are not going to be able to take place.

This is because of ever-increasing civil unrest in Kashmir and Srinagar, where the trial is taking place in India.

In just the last few days, 10 people have been killed in the area because of violent outbreaks. Seven of those people were civilians. Now, the separatists behind the movement have called for three days of strikes, which, in the words of Sarah's father, Vic, will paralyse the public services, including the court system. 

Hearings to allow the last few witnesses to take the stand were supposed to take place both yesterday and today, but were called off because of this unrest.

Pictured: Left, Richard De Wit, the man who is accused of killing Sarah Groves, right, in India over five years ago. 

Previously, hearings have not been able to take place at the last minute because the accused, Richard De Wit, has not been able to be transferred from prison to the courts. This was all because of this ongoing unrest, which often has led to strikes. 

Following the latest cancellations, Mr Groves said: "The purpose of this media release is not to pass comment on the internal political affairs of Kashmir but the current situation does beg the question – should our case not be moved to another court in a more stable location? 

"At the current rate of progress, with civil unrest on the increase, we face yet another threat to a safe outcome to a trial that started five and a half years ago."

The trial moved on to having more than one hearing a week some months ago, when the Judge of the Indian Court agreed progress was too slow. It has seen some advancements made, with key witnesses starting to take to the stands. 

The next scheduled hearing in the trial is yet to be announced. 

Pictured top: A newspaper exert from Kashmir detailing the unrest.