Violated Human Rights in Lt. Ridge Alkonis' Case

 

“NGOs and legal experts stated bail was very difficult to obtain without a confession”

Ridge was able to post bail only after the prosecution believed they had the confession they needed to convict him.

“Legal experts…continued to express concerns about forced confessions”

Despite having inexplicably lost consciousness, during the interrogations Ridge was repeatedly pressured to say he fell asleep. 

“Defendants are legally presumed innocent until proven guilty, BUT NGOs and lawyers continued to suggest that this was not the case because of the pressure on suspects to confess prior to trial”

During almost every interaction Ridge had with police during his 26-day detention, the message was the same: “Stop fighting it and just accept it.” There was no presumption of innocence at all.

“The law also does not require full disclosure by prosecutors unless the defending attorney satisfies difficult disclosure procedure conditions”

Ridge’s attorney had NO access to what would be presented as evidence during the trial. Everything they wanted to be included as evidence presented had to be approved by the prosecution, and in Ridge’s case, most of the evidence they submitted was rejected.