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Shaik trial 'unfair'
18/12/2006 19:08 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Schabir Shaik's trial was "unfair" because he was never charged with Jacob Zuma or the French arms manufacturing giant Thint on charges of corruption and fraud, an appeal application filed with the Constitutional Court said on Monday.
Shaik was found guilty of two counts of corruption and one of fraud by Judge Hilary Squires in Durban High Court in July 2005 and was sentenced to 15 years' in jail - a verdict upheld by a full bench of the Supreme Court of Appeal on November 6.
Speaking to Sapa in Durban, Shaik's lawyer Reeves Parsee said: "We contend that he should never have been charged alone."
Parsee said Shaik should have been charged along with Zuma as well as Thint, the local subsidiary of French arms manufacturing giant Thales International.
He said the fact that Zuma and Thint were not charged but placed on the State's witness list in Shaik's trial effectively silenced the two to his client's disadvantage.
"Because they were still suspects they would not have wanted to speak for fear of implicating themselves," he said.
Trial unfairness
The decision to try Shaik alone constituted "trial unfairness" and was "unlawful and illegal".
In the appeal application, filed by Parsee, he said that both before trial investigations and during trial legal procedures had compromised Shaik's constitutional right to a fair trial.
"At this point I record that the NPA's (National Prosecuting Authority) conduct compromised the fairness of the investigating process, and the First Applicant's [Shaik] fair trial rights in the Durban proceedings," said Parsee in the application.
In addition to unlawful investigations, Parsee said Shaik was prejudiced because he was not tried jointly with the other applicants such as Thint and Jacob Zuma.
"Trying Shaik separately, effectively silenced Zuma and Thint who would have implicated themselves had they been called as witnesses," he said.
In the application, he said that as a result of this, all evidence was not presented to the court when it ruled on the question of Shaik's guilt.
Still being treated in hospital
Meanwhile, correctional services spokesperson Luphumzo Kebeni said Shaik was still being treated at a Durban hospital.
"As far as I am aware his condition has not changed. I cannot disclose any detail about his condition. That can only be disclosed by his doctor or his family," he said.
Shaik was admitted to Durban's St Augustine's Hospital at the end of November. There were reports that he had suffered a stroke.
Schabir Shaik's brother Mo Shaik said his brother was "still under medication and high blood pressure is fluctuating all the time".
- SAPA
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