The court of appeal in London hears the appeal of the Freshwater Five. In the final part of our miniseries, we find out how the judges reach their decision and what it means
The case of the Freshwater Five, convicted a decade ago of attempting to smuggle £53m (A$96m) worth of cocaine into the UK, makes it to the England and Wales court of appeal, where new evidence is heard that the men hope will clear their names. Anushka Asthana follows the week-long hearing, sitting alongside the men’s families as the barristers argue the case.
The court of appeal can consider new evidence not heard by the original jury, and so the bar to overturning the convictions is set high. Nevertheless, the appeal has several grounds: one aspect focuses on new radar data that the men hope would show they were not close enough to the cargo ship that was alleged to be the other vessel involved in the transfer of drugs. There is also evidence purporting to show a new suspect vessel in Freshwater Bay as well as a surveillance plane that should have been able to spot the drugs floating in the water if indeed they were there at the time the prosecution suggested.
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