According to the Parliament Hansard, the then de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri explained on May 19, 2016, that the provision enabling
trial in absentia was not to be simply used for all cases, but with the courts to provide checks and balance by deciding whether to apply it.
"Under the Clause 19 and sub-section 10 of the ATC, any accused can be sentenced five to 10 years rigorous imprisonment on completion of the
trial in absentia," The Daily Times quoted Zulfiqar, as saying.
"Under the clause 19 and sub-section 10 of the ATC, any accused can be sentenced five to ten years rigorous imprisonment on completion of the
trial in absentia," senior Public Prosecutor of the agency Chaudhry Zulfiqar told.
The
trial in absentia of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali opened Monday.
Many Tunisians are pleased the alleged crimes of the once-powerful couple will be examined in court but others say their
trial in absentia is merely intended to appease demands for justice and change months after the uprising.
Deposed Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali denounced his imminent
trial in absentia in a press statement made by his legal representation in France.
Now Brunner, one of the Nazis' most zealous murderers, is standing
trial in absentia in Paris for sending 340 Jewish children to Auschwitz on the last convoy to leave France for the World War II death camps.
Mundis said the start of the
trial in absentia was a "last resort" that would allow the facts of what happened on the day of the attack to be discerned, and for the voices of victims of the bombing to be heard.
"In issuing this decision on
trial in absentia, the judges relied on reports from the Lebanese authorities detailing their efforts to apprehend the accused and to inform him of the charges against him.
For citizens of Lebanon,
trial in absentia is a familiar alternative to trial in the presence of the accused.
The court sources said under the court procedures, the judge has the discretion to order a
trial in absentia if the defendant continued to abstain himself from the hearings without genuine reasons.
Trial in absentia "is really only second best," he said.