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Seychelles' top court dismisses charge of rape levied by Russian travel writer

Victoria, Seychelles | February 23, 2019, Saturday @ 10:53 in National » GENERAL | By: Daniel Laurence Edited by: Betymie Bonnelame | Views: 6326
Seychelles' top court dismisses charge of rape levied by Russian travel writer

The 'Palais de Justice' at Ile du Port which houses the Seychelles Supreme Court. (Seychelles News Agency)

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(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles Supreme Court has ruled that there is no case to answer in the criminal case of a Mauritian man charged with sexual abuse for an alleged attack against a Russian travel writer at a resort last year.

The defence lawyer, Basil Hoareau, told SNA that he is very satisfied with the ruling as his client is now effectively acquitted on a no case to answer basis.

Hoareau said that it was clear that the case would go in this direction as there were too many grey areas in the evidence presented to the court by the complainant.

“As a lawyer you sometimes know when you are about to win a case. After cross-questioning the Russian traveller, I knew that her evidence was weak and did not add up,” said Hoareau.

The criminal case has been going on since May 2017. The Russian woman accused the Mauritian man who was working at Six Senses Zil Pasyon on Felicite Island of rape in an email to media houses in Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.

The Russian travel writer expressed her disappointment on the outcome of the ruling that the court has given to SNA via Facebook.

“I am very sorry for Seychelles. I see that corruption has won. I will look for a way to appeal even through the African Court of Human Rights,” said the writer.

She added that “this person should be in jail. He is a danger for society. I know that he really raped me and I cannot call this justice when someone like this is still out there on the loose.”

Although the Mauritian man is free of charge in the criminal case there is a civil case that remains before the Seychelles Supreme Court. This case is being heard by Chief Justice Mathilda Twomey.

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Tags: African Court of Human Rights

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