| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Begum granted legal aid | |
| Posted by: | Leslie McDonnell | |
| Date/Time: | 16/04/19 09:59:00 |
| I am far from a liberal idealist. However as a retired lawyer I am deeply conscious that is is a crucial aspect of Common Law that one is innocent until proven guilty. There is no doubt that Begum left voluntarilly for a combat zone and once there threw in her lot with those whom the vast majority of us would call terorists. However the more recent allegations brought against her are just that, allegations of which in law she is innocent until proven guilty. The rules relating to legal aid are well defined, and unfortunately for the majority of us who might once have sought recourse to it under more pedestrian circumstances, narrowing. Allow the Courts, not the politicians to decide whether or not it should be granted to her. If it is and if she fails in her quest to return to a country she turned her back on so be it and the law in its objectivity and not politicians will have spoken. If she succeeds and as is now being suggested there are grounds for further investigation into her actions let her be tried and if found guilty sentenced to what I am sure would be a lengthy sentence in prison. I am in no way defending the wretched woman, just asking that the law be allowed to run its course unimpaired by natural if misplaced emotiveness. |