181. In the circumstances, it is difficult to say that all possibilities of error
respect to the identity of the perpetrator of the crime have
witness
statements
were
either
contradictory
or,
to
inconsistencies, and are far from constituting a watertight
especially with
been eliminated, since the
say
the
least,
riddled
with
testimony.
182. The Court then notes that even if he had ultimately asked for the conviction of the
Applicant, the Senior State Attorney admitted such possibility of error before the Court of
Appeal, as reported by the Judgment of the aforesaid Court dated 5 October 2004 on the
same
case.
“He [the Senior State Attorney} did not support the conviction on the ground that the
identification of the appellant was solely based on the evidence of the single witness, PW
1, under unfavourable conditions. The circumstances were such that, in his view, the
possibility of mistaken identity could not be ruled out” [fifth sheet].
183. In view of the aforesaid, it cannot be said that the testimony in question constituted
unassailable evidence.
184. As regards the identification of the Applicant, in particular, the Court notes that in the
special circumstances
in which the robbery occurred in the instant case, it would have
been safer for the competent authorities to also carry out an identification parade.
185. For all these reasons, the Court holds that the conviction of the Applicant based on
the testimony of a single individual and riddled with inconsistencies, did not meet the
requirements of a fair hearing under Article 7 of the Charter.
.
A SS
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