Case against the JEP is dropped for lack of evidence

In the Magistrate’s Court yesterday Crown Advocate Stephen Baker told Assistant Magistrate Ian Christmas that there was not enough evidence to continue with the prosecution against reporter Jonny Pearce (25). The JEP man was arrested while he was interviewing Portuguese football fans who had gathered around Minden Place car park to celebrate their victory over Holland, which secured Portugal a place in the quarter-finals of the competition. At a previous hearing on 17 January, the journalist had already entered a plea of not guilty to the offence of obstructing States police officer Andrew Bisson on 25 June in Minden Place. The newspaper’s lawyer, Advocate Nuno Santos Costa, argued that his client’s human rights may have been breached as it had taken so long to bring the matter before the courts. He added that as more than six months had passed since the alleged incident, finding reliable witnesses would prove difficult.