Plea issued to multi governments to intervene in Sarah Groves murder trial

Wednesday 01 August 2018

Sarah Groves' father has asked the British, Indian and Dutch governments to intervene in the trial of the man accused of murdering the young Guernsey woman to ensure the case comes to a fair conclusion.

The latest two-day hearing saw more time wasted, with no progress at all made in the 124th scheduled sitting of the court case.

Pictured: Miss Groves - who was found dead on a houseboat in Kashmir in 2013. No one has yet been brought to justice for her murder

On Monday this week, the Groves family legal representative told them that although the accused; Richard de Wit, had appeared in court, neither defence lawyers were there and no witnesses attended court.

On Tuesday, Mr de Wit; who denies murder, failed to appear in court. Only one of his lawyers, the junior defence counsel, was present, while none of the witnesses showed up.

None of this should come as a surprise to those who have been following the case, as it is a regular occurance for people to fail to appear in court and the case has encountered numerous delays and postponements since Miss Groves died in Kashmir in 2013.

Pictured: Vic Groves has detailed all of the delays in the trial of the man accused of murdering his daughter

On this occasion, it was declared that the accused could not be brought to court due to "a lack of available police officers." However, the reports shared with Mr Groves said that "according to reports received, there has not been any civil disturbance in the region during the previous 24 hours.  The shortage of police officers is, therefore, totally unjustified."

Mr Groves said his family had had great hopes that having two consecutive days of hearings would see some progress "in this long drawn out saga."

"Unfortunately, as has happened on so many occasions throughout, they have been totally unproductive for wholly unacceptable reasons."

Mr Groves also said that a "strongly-worded letter was sent to the judge ahead of today’s hearing.  The letter highlighted the disgraceful way in which the case was proceeding under his stewardship and requested the immediate replacement of the Prosecutor by a better-qualified person.  All previous communication with the court has passed totally unacknowledged so expectations of any significant level of change are not high."

Now, Mr Groves said he has sent out a media release "in anger and sheer frustration."

He also included in his latest court summary a direct plea - and thanks - to the various governments linked with the case. Including to the Indian Government - a representative of whom he recently met while they were in Guernsey.

Today I was pleased to welcome HE Mr Y.K. Sinha, Indian High Commissioner & his wife to Guernsey and to introduce them to Vic & Kate Groves pic.twitter.com/OAR3VWY1V5

— Jonathan Le Tocq (@letocq) July 22, 2018 

Pictured: Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq facilitated a meeting between the Groves family and the Indian High Commissioner during a recent visit to Guernsey 

Writing to the local and national media, Mr Groves said;

"Many people receive this from all walks of life.  From the majority, our relatives and friends, we don’t expect any response or reaction.  However, some of you are in a position to help but, as per the judge’s lack of response back to us whenever we have tried to contact him, with few exceptions, you have all gone totally quiet on us.

"To the UK media we say: please pick up and run with this story and help us to raise awareness of the terrible situation we find ourselves in.  Give us much more national coverage during a time when the British Government is transfixed by one subject – Brexit.

"To the British Government we say: please forget Brexit for just a few moments; has anything of substance occurred since our meeting with you at Ministerial level in April of this year?  Have we been completely forgotten about despite a supposed willingness when we met to pursue matters with the Indian authorities?  Actions really do speak louder than words!

"To the Indian Government we say: even by normal standards within the Indian system of justice, surely you must see that the total lack of professionalism and respect associated with this case is wholly unacceptable and unforgivable? You represent our best chance of influencing future hearings – please do whatever is possible as quickly as possible.

"To the Dutch Government we say: the accused is one of your own, despite his background and attitude towards you.  Surely you can see that manner in which the case is being conducted could well lead to an unsafe verdict?  You could, and should, be doing much more to influence matters.

"To the States of Guernsey we say: thank you for being the single most influential and constructively helpful force throughout these long five-plus years. We address these remarks primarily to Jonathan Le Tocq and his team who have far outshone all other political, diplomatic and legal figures involved.  The meeting with the Indian High Commissioner last week, arranged by you, represents our best chance of bringing about some level of change." 

Pictured: Richard de Wit (l) waiting for his trial to progress during a previously scheduled hearing

Mr de Wit's trial is due to resume again in August. Thursday 16 August has been set aside by the court in Srinagar for the 126th scheduled hearing in the case.

Pictured: Richard de Wit (l) denies murdering Sarah Groves (r)