Syvret Trial: Day Four

It's day four of Stuart Syvret's Abuse of Process Hearing in Jersey's Magistrate's Court.

Mr Syvret is charged with data protection and motoring offences but claims the case against him is a conspiracy to silence him.

Stuart Syvret took to the witness box today (Thursday) to give evidence as to why he thinks the proper procedure wasn't followed by Jersey's legal authorities in pursuing the case against him. He claimed the raid on his home was unlawful, that he'd been denied access to legal aid and that he'd been denied access to key evidence.

This afternoon he was cross-examined by Advocate Stephen Baker and admitted that in the first instance he hadn't filled in the forms for legal aid and that he'd refused it when it was offered to him because he thought that it was ineffective. He was then accused of not informing the relevant police authorities for up to three years before publishing a confidential police report on his blog in March of last year. A claim that the former senator denies.

It was then put to him that if it was a conspiracy that aimed to silence him, then it hadn't been effective, but he said it had because it had terrified the sources that were giving him information and made it very difficult for him to be re-elected.

On the subject of the police acting improperly against him, the former Senator said to Stephen Baker, 'you yourself warned the jury during the Curtis Warren trial that they lie, they cheat, they scheme and they can't be trusted.'

Advocate Stephen Baker closed by saying the prosecution does not accept that the charges are in any way connected to his role as a politician, that evidence has been withheld that would have prevented a fair trial, or that there was covert surveillance on the former senator by the police. The hearing will continue on Friday October 8th.

Syvret Trial: Day Four