A LAWYER has claimed that her client should be acquitted of all charges because he was ‘chubby like a teddy bear’ and the arresting officer couldn’t recognise him in court.
She was flabbergasted that he could not be easily picked out even if he was allegedly wearing a mask at the time of the incident as he would surely have been spotted waddling away from the scene.
Defence lawyer Intisar Al Asfour made her challenge during cross-examination of a prosecution witness in a trial involving two teenagers accused of setting part of a police vehicle ablaze by throwing Molotov cocktails at it.
The police officer failed to identify the defendants in court and said that all the culprits had their faces covered at the time. “I saw around five masked people who hurled Molotov cocktails at us,” the 33-year-old officer told judges.
“We were stationed near the entrance of East Eker. I do not know what the culprits look like because they wore masks.”
This prompted, Ms Al Asfour, who is representing one of the two accused 19-year-olds, to request judges acquit her client following the testimony of the policeman.
“Your honour, I asked the policeman if he recognised any of the defendants and he said that he did not see their faces because they wore masks,” she told a leading judge. “I also asked him if he could identify the defendants from the shape of their bodies, and he said that he couldn’t.
“My client, who I do not mean to offend, is chubby like a teddy bear. So, if he took part in the attack, the officer should have recognised him.
“Therefore, I request his acquittal because there is no chance that the policeman did not spot a fat person running down the street.”
The trial has been adjourned until Sunday. The defendant previously denied arson, rioting and possessing firebombs.
The two teenagers are accused of having made more than 30 Molotov cocktails in an under-construction building site, along with others whose identities are not known to authorities, according to court documents.
They then allegedly attacked police officers stationed near the entrance of East Eker in September last year.
No one was injured and policemen put out the flames before they could spread. A firebomb found at the scene of the attack contained fingerprints of one of the defendants.
The defendant, whose fingerprints were lifted off the Molotov cocktail, is a beach lifeguard and previously described to the prosecution how he and his co-defendant made firebombs to use in the attack, the court heard. At the hearing, however, he also denied the charges.
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