Lawyer accuses judge of passivity in case surrounding kidnapped toddler Insiya
Lawyer Nancy Dekens accused the investigating judge of passivity in the case surrounding kidnapped Amsterdam toddler Insiya Hemani. According to the lawyer, up until now the judge has put in very little effort to question three of the suspects in the kidnapping who are abroad. These include Insiya's father Shehzad Hemani in India, a suspect who is in custody in the United States and one in custody in Iraq, the Telegraaf reports.
On Friday there was a pro-forma hearing in the criminal case against 59-year-old Frederick S., 47-year-old Robert B. and three other suspects in the now 3-year-old girl's kidnapping.
"It is unprecedented that so little is being done to question the suspects who are staying abroad", Dekens, who is representing one of the suspects, said the court in Amsterdam on Friday. She asked the court to order the investigating judge to send a request for assistance in questioning the three abroad suspects within the next two weeks. The lawyer representing Robert B. suggested that Hemani be questioned via a video link, in the presence of his lawyer.
Insiya was violently kidnapped from her grandmother's apartment in Amsterdam by three men in September 2016. Her father is suspected of ordering this kidnapping. The girl is now believed to be with her father in India.
Hemani previously stated that he is willing to make a statement from India. But Insiya's mother Nadia Rashid does not believe this, calling it a stalling tactic, according to the newspaper.
Although there are still suspects who have to be interrogated and extradited, the Prosecutor called for a trial-date to be set, even if this means trying Hemani separately, according to reporter Saskia Belleman tweeting from within the courtroom. She suggested this be in May or June next year. The prosecutor said that she has "absolutely no expectation" that Hemani will be extradited by India soon. Previous requests to do so were denied. And now she's not getting "a single reaction".