Appeals court overturns poaching convictions for five men |21 May 2005

President of the Court of Appeal Michael Ramodibedi, sitting with Justice of Appeal Jacques Hodoul, held that an expert witness for the prosecution fell short in proving that the meat in question was in fact illegal turtle and bird meat.

Originally eight men had been arrested in connection with an incident in January 2003 in which police seized more than 1,000 kilos of alleged turtle meat at Providence.

Two of the men were eventually acquitted by Justice Ranjan Perera, who presided over the case, but the judge convicted the other six on various poaching charges and sentenced each to two years imprisonment.

While the five appellants have been acquitted and released from prison, there is some question as to the sixth man who was convicted but didn’t appeal.

Although some legal experts told Nation that a successful appeal would likely apply to him as well, court officials said they were unsure about his status, as prison authorities were apparently reluctant to release him without documentation from the court listing his name.

The Prison Division said Friday evening that they were not authorised to give out any information without permission from the prison warden, who was unavailable.