Charges have got to be brought if there is any justice in this world: Nasser Shaikh
28 March 2014 05:06 am
Khuram Shaikh’s brother Nasser speaks on the trial of his brother’s murder in Sri Lanka on Christmas Eve two years ago
Pix by pradeep pathirana
Q: How do you feel about the trial being put off for so long?
It would have been six months into the actual incident itself; I was quite naïve to think that investigations would be completed by then and charges would have been brought.
Never did I think two years on we would have to be fighting to get this justice. But yeah the time is here. . . It’s been a difficult period its taken lot of work, effort and commitment from many people involved to give us that support. This is another key milestone that we can take off, but there is still a long road ahead that we have got to think of.
Q: How does it feel knowing that you will face these men in court tomorrow?
The Courts hearings now means trying to get my head around what exactly is going to happen within the trial. This is going to be a key poignant time for me.
I was told the witnesses themselves can give a true account. They are not intimidated, there is no fear factor there and there are no external influences that can jeopardise the way the trial is going to take place. We just hope that justice will prevail at the end of it.
Q: How important is a guilty verdict for you?
It is truly important. This campaign has been very much about people trying to find the answers we want. I couldn’t even imagine getting this far now and not getting a verdict.
We’ve been told by the experts that everything is there - witness accounts, forensics. Charges have got to be brought if there is any justice in this world.
Q: How much impact has all of this had on your family?
You couldn’t even imagine the two years of heartache. It has torn us apart . . . we have lost a young brother that should have never been lost.
I could even imagine what my mom goes through when I see her cry every day asking the same questions about why and how she lost her son who should have never been lost. I have not got the answers to all of them - I wish I had them. Every single day, I just think about the same thing – I think about why, why, why. . .
Courtesy Granada Reports