If this man gets out of jail he's gonna get the worst beating ever me thinks,
From the Argus..
Hoogstraten
Jailed landlord Nicholas Hoogstraten could be released this week after serving just 12 months of a ten-year sentence for manslaughter.
The Court of Appeal is due to rule on whether the multi-millionaire's conviction should be quashed on a legal technicality.
Hoogstraten, 58, of Framfield, near Uckfield, was found guilty at the Old Bailey in July last year of ordering two henchmen to rough up Mohammed Raja, a business associate. But they shot him dead on the doorstep of his Surrey home.
The appeal decision hinges on whether the jury was given enough guidance to decide whether Hoogstraten instructed the duo to simply scare Raja or to go further and seriously injure or kill him.
Hoogstraten's lawyer, Giovanni di Stefano, believes if the jury concluded he told Knapp and Croke only to frighten Raja, he should not have been convicted on the killing charge.
He has protested that jurors were misdirected by trial judge Mr Justice Newman on the issue.
The concerns have now been raised in a private memo by senior lawyers acting for Sir David Calvert-Smith, the director of public prosecutions, which has been leaked to the Press.
Prosecution lawyers are expected to push for a re-trial even if the first conviction is quashed by judges.
If Hoogstraten does walk free from Belmarsh high security prison in south London this week, Scotland Yard is reported to be considering re-arresting him over fears that he may have tried to intimidate a witness.
Detectives still want to question him about his former lover, 19-year-old Tanika Sali. She gave police vital information but later refused to testify.
Mr Di Stefano claimed there were deeper political motives for keeping Hoogstraten under lock and key.
He said: "It is very clear the Prison Service is acting in close proximity to the Government, who in my view, think that Hoogstraten should stay locked away for as long as possible owing to his alleged links to Zimbabwe."
The appeal hearing is on Wednesday at the London Court of Appeal.
A spokesman for the CPS declined to comment on the case.
He said: "It is inappropriate for us to comment at this stage."
From the Argus..
Hoogstraten
Jailed landlord Nicholas Hoogstraten could be released this week after serving just 12 months of a ten-year sentence for manslaughter.
The Court of Appeal is due to rule on whether the multi-millionaire's conviction should be quashed on a legal technicality.
Hoogstraten, 58, of Framfield, near Uckfield, was found guilty at the Old Bailey in July last year of ordering two henchmen to rough up Mohammed Raja, a business associate. But they shot him dead on the doorstep of his Surrey home.
The appeal decision hinges on whether the jury was given enough guidance to decide whether Hoogstraten instructed the duo to simply scare Raja or to go further and seriously injure or kill him.
Hoogstraten's lawyer, Giovanni di Stefano, believes if the jury concluded he told Knapp and Croke only to frighten Raja, he should not have been convicted on the killing charge.
He has protested that jurors were misdirected by trial judge Mr Justice Newman on the issue.
The concerns have now been raised in a private memo by senior lawyers acting for Sir David Calvert-Smith, the director of public prosecutions, which has been leaked to the Press.
Prosecution lawyers are expected to push for a re-trial even if the first conviction is quashed by judges.
If Hoogstraten does walk free from Belmarsh high security prison in south London this week, Scotland Yard is reported to be considering re-arresting him over fears that he may have tried to intimidate a witness.
Detectives still want to question him about his former lover, 19-year-old Tanika Sali. She gave police vital information but later refused to testify.
Mr Di Stefano claimed there were deeper political motives for keeping Hoogstraten under lock and key.
He said: "It is very clear the Prison Service is acting in close proximity to the Government, who in my view, think that Hoogstraten should stay locked away for as long as possible owing to his alleged links to Zimbabwe."
The appeal hearing is on Wednesday at the London Court of Appeal.
A spokesman for the CPS declined to comment on the case.
He said: "It is inappropriate for us to comment at this stage."
