Crown says Air India bombing acquittal didn't mean the men were innocent

Vancouver: The not-guilty verdict in the historic Air India bombing trial did not amount to a finding that the two accused men were innocent of all charges, a Crown prosecutor told B.C. Supreme Court Tuesday.
Len Doust urged Justice Ian Bruce Josephson — the original trial judge — to reject a bid by former suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik to recoup $9.2 million in legal fees from the B.C. government because of his March 2005 acquittal.
“An acquittal is not in fact a declaration of innocence,” Doust said. “It is simply a determination that the Crown has not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Malik’s lawyer Bruce McLeod argued that it was appropriate for Malik to get his legal costs covered because the evidence against him was so weak that the charges never should have been brought.
And he claimed Malik has continued to be vilified in the media despite “the clear verdict of the court of Mr. Malik’s innocence.”
29/05/12 Kim Bolan/Vancouver Sun

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Air India May 2012, Foreign May 2012, Safety May 2012