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Friday, 29 April 2016 - 15:10
Lawyer's snap resignation forces delay in case tied to Amanda Todd suicide
The court in Amsterdam suspended the trial against Aydin C. until Monday to give the suspect time to find a lawyer. C. is standing trial for sexually abusing and extorting 34 girls via webcam. One of his victims was Canadian teen Amanda Todd.
C. requested that the trial be suspended after his lawyer, Robert Malewicz, withdrew from the case on Thursday. He felt that he had too little time to prepare for this massive case, ANP reports. According to the lawyer, who was assigned the case a month ago, this is a very complex issue with a criminal file that covers some 20 thousand pages.
"At present I have no adequate defense and I do not want to defend myself", C. said when he asked for a suspension. He also stated that he does not want a new assigned counsel.
It took the court hours of deliberation to agree to a suspension. In principle, the court did not want to agree to C.'s request. But the court was of the opinion that the case should not continue while C. has no lawyer, according to the news wire. So the trial was suspended until Monday afternoon. In the meantime a lawyer will be sought who is willing to defend C.
C. is accused of abusing 34 girls, including Amanda Todd. The teenager committed suicide in 2012 after uploading a YouTube video detailing her extortion, abuse and bullying.