– court extends adjournment
The prosecutor in the advocating a terrorist act charge against Oliver Hinckson was unable to make contact with the Director of Public Prosecutions for further advice on how to proceed with the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) and Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys said he should have granted more time.
No witnesses took the stand yesterday and Hinckson was once again remanded.
Leslie Sobers another of Hinckson’s attorneys said that he did not believe it was an insurmountable task to make contact with the DPP yesterday so the matter could return to court on Monday.
However Magistrate Gilhuys said that was not plausible and he would grant the prosecution a little more time so that frivolous excuses would not be made. Sobers further said that the defence’s efforts were being “stymied by prosecution’s sand dancing.”
Magistrate Gilhuys then set Friday, May 2 as the date for the next hearing.
At Thursday’s hearing, the prosecution had requested an adjournment to seek advice on how to proceed with the PI after the defence had objected to the line of questioning by Prosecutor Robert Tyndall.
Meanwhile, it is unclear what the prosecution’s next move is as regards the uttering seditious statements charge against Hinckson. His lawyers had indicated that they would take this charge back to Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle and request that she assign it to another court, since Tyndall had requested it be put down sine die. However, no application has been made so far.
Hinckson returns to court on May 2.
