Albania “The Victims” of David Brown give testimonies with video-conference

May 15, 2008

Comment: The trial against the British David Brown, accused for sexual abuse of minors in Albania, took place in mid-May 2008. Three of the minors, suspected to have suffered abuse from Brown at the center “His Children”, gave their testimonies during the trial through a video-conference. During the trial of David Brown, CILPS was involved by providing a psychologist for the assistance of the minors during the interrogation process by the judge. The particularity of this trial was not only the video conference, but also the fact that the witnesses this time were not abroad, but in another room, in the same floor with the room where the trial was taking place. According to the article of Shqip, the video conference was asked by the prosecutor and was agreed by the judges. The main reason for taking this decision was the age of the witnesses. The prosecutor considered the minors as very important witnesses and in order to avoid the possibility to be frightened or influenced by the environment of the court room, by the presence of the accused or by the solemnity of the judges, their testimonies were given outside the court room.
The article focuses on the rare case of using video-conference for testimonies to protect minor victims of trafficking. It provides extensive details on the child-friendly circumstances of the interrogation and explains this unusual practice. The author respects the confidentiality rules: there is no information on the outcome of the interrogation or details of the testimonies; however, the age and the sex of the witnesses are disclosed breaking the identity protection principle.

(This Press review is under the framework of EIDHR funded project, implemented jointly with the Legal Clinic for Minors, Albania)

More press reviews on the trial of David Brown: Shqip, Panorama, Gazeta Shqiptare