Case Study

Our client was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. Our client’s husband and uncle were co-accused in this matter, and all three were of Iraqi heritage. At the time of the alleged offending, our client’s husband was on remand for a separate criminal matter. While in prison, they shared a phone call in Arabic, which was recorded. During this phone call, it was alleged by the prosecution that our client spoke with her husband about paying off the victim his criminal matter so that the charges would be dropped and he could be released from prison. Some of our defence arguments included: 

• Multiple experts translated the phone call, each offering different interpretations of what was said.

• Our client never explicitly said that she was going to pay off the victim so that her husband could get out of jail. Consequently, the prosecution relied on inferences such as her saying we need to ‘find a solution’.

• In Iraq, there is a ritual called a ‘faisal’, which occurs when there is a conflict between families. For example, there was going to be a faisal in Iraq between our client’s husband’s family and the victim’s family. The families needed to come together and organise an agreed settlement amount, which would be paid by the husband to the victim’s family. If a faisal is not worked out, the families go through a lot of stress and trauma. We put forward to the court that the ‘solution’ our client was talking about in the phone call was in fact concerning the faisal in Iraq and had nothing to do with the criminal charges in Victoria.

Our client and both co-accused were found not guilty. This was the best possible outcome – we could put forward our client’s case while working in the best interest of the co-accused. This case demonstrates our commitment to getting to know our clients, not just their legal matters. We took an interest in our client’s culture, taking the time to understand the process and concept of a ‘faisal’ and the consequences if this ceremony/settlement did not occur. We also worked with the co-accused’s lawyers to ensure all evidence put forward benefited all three co-accused.