Another year without justice for Sarah

Thursday 02 January 2020

Just four of 30 scheduled hearings saw progress made in the trial of the man accused of murdering Sarah Groves during 2019, a fact that has grabbed the attention of national journalists as her family plead for more help to see justice done.

While the year ended without any changes seen in the status of the trial, with a final hearing on 30 December coming to nothing, because the Judge could not attend "for personal reasons", 2020 started off with national newspapers covering the case for the first time in months, if not years.

Richard de Wit, the man accused of murdering Sarah, also did not attend court earlier this week because of a lack of security guards. 

That fact and the massive length of time that this trial has been taking made its way into national headlines yesterday, as both the Mirror and Daily Mail reported how Vic and Kate Groves, Sarah's parents, fear they will never see justice.

"With the next hearing scheduled for mid-January due to the annual two-week shut-down of the court system in Kashmir, today’s hearing ended another frustrating and disappointing year in the history of this trial," Vic Groves, Sarah's father, said. "In 2019 there were thirty scheduled hearings during which only one out of the forty-six witnesses listed by the prosecution completed their evidence. Today’s witness would have been the second if the court had properly convened."

Mr Groves and his wife, Kate, have been following the trial very closely through a contact in Kashmir, where Sarah had her life taken; but even following what has, or hasn't, been happening has become difficult in recent weeks because of the political crisis in the region.

A number of restrictions remain in force as we head into the new year, which Mr Groves said make day-to-day communication "extremely difficult". 

Pictured: The accused, Richard de Wit. The trial is now being heard under its fourth Judge; its seventh Prosecutor and its fifth Defence Counsel.

"Since it started six and a half years ago in June 2013, the State of Jammu & Kashmir -v- Richard de Wit has been blighted by a combination of incompetence by the legal authorities (in Kashmir and in Delhi) and by a disproportionate level of bad luck. No-one could have predicted the diverse and sometimes bizarre reasons why the trial was not completed a long time ago.

"All attempts to influence matters and to change this have fallen on deaf ears. Matters have not been helped by three and a half years of Brexit; three general elections; and the passage of time that has led to the loss of continuity with senior contacts in the Foreign Office, the British Government, Dutch legal and diplomatic representatives and with the many long-established relationships with the media."

Pictured: As 2020 began, the trial was featured in some of the national media. 

Looking ahead to 2020, Mr Groves said unless there was a significant change in attitude and approach by the key stakeholders in this trial, it was likely that they would pass the 200 mark in respect of the number of scheduled hearings.

"Can anyone anywhere recall a trial that has lasted this long, that has tried to convene on no less than one hundred and seventy-six occasions and where there is still no end in sight? Can anyone anywhere recall such disdain and lack of respect for the loss of a life in such horrendous circumstances?

"Kate and I will never give up our fight for justice for Sarah. For this we rely heavily on third-party support, some of which needs to step up to the plate more than in recent times. We sincerely hope that 2020 will move us in that direction more successfully than has hitherto been the case but we fear without upsetting a few people along the way, this will not be the case."

Pictured top: Richard de Wit on the 19 December 2019 and Sarah Groves, who is accused of murdering.