(Nov 1, 2011, NZ Herald)--An Ethiopian man who appealed against his conviction for a Wellington rape, claiming the quality of interpreting provided during his trial was inadequate, has failed to have the conviction overturned. Chala Sani Abdula, 29, was unsuccessful in both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
But in its ruling, released today, the Supreme Court said Abdula's appeal raised an issue that was central to fairness in the administration of criminal justice. It concerned the right of accused people who did not speak English to hear and understand the case being presented against them.
Defendants were dependant on effective interpretation of what was said in court if they were to understand proceedings and have a real opportunity to present a full defence to the criminal charges they faced, the judgement reads.
Abdula was tried jointly with another man on a charge of raping a teenage student in the back streets of Wellington's main nightclub and bar area in April 2007. He was found guilty and jailed for seven years, while his co-accused got four years behind bars for unlawful sexual connection and being a party to rape.
During their 2009 trial the pair shared an interpreter who sat between them in the dock translating between English and Oromo, one of the official languages in Ethiopia. With no Oromo language interpreters in New Zealand, one of only two on the database of the relevant Australian government agency was brought to New Zealand but was able to stay for just the first week.
The next week the only other interpreter available - a Wellington taxi driver - took over. One of the grounds of Abdula's appeal was that the quality of interpretation during the first week of his trial was poor and did not meet the standard required under the Bill of Rights Act. FULL ARTICLE AT NZ Herald »
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