Tuesday, June 21, 2011

June 30 verdict date for Australian journalist Ross Dunkley

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Tuesday, 21 June 2011 18:25 Te Te

New Delhi (Mizzima) – After a hearing in the Kamayut Township court in Rangoon on Tuesday involving criminal and civil charges against Australian journalist Ross Dunkley, the court said it would pronounce a verdict on June 30, according to Dunkley’s lawyer.

In this file photo, Australian journalist Ross Dunkley, right,
and Myanmar Times CEO Dr. Tin Tun Oo wait for a
hearing to begin at the Kamayut Township Court on
Tuesday, June 14. Photo: Mizzima
At the hearing, lawyers from both sides presented arguments, and  the court set the verdict date, nearly about four months after charges were filed against Dunkley, who is the cofounder of the Myanmar Times.

‘We have already offered the final argument, so we have nothing more to do’, said Dunkley’s lawyer, Aung Than Soe.

Dunkley is charged under the Emergency Immigration Act and under criminal charges alleging he assaulted a woman and held her against her will.

Dunkley denied all criminal charges against him at the hearings.

Judge Aung Min conducted the one-hour hearing, and the female plaintiff did not appear at the hearing.

Dunkley was arrested by Burmese authorities on February 10 and the next day was taken to the Insein Prison in Rangoon; he was released about one month later, and the judge cited a heart condition as a factor in his release on bail.

Plaintiff Khaing Zar Lin asked the court to dismiss the criminal charges against Dunkley twice, but the court refused.

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