Malaysian couple detained in Sweden all set for trial

Kristofer Stahre and his client, Shalwati Nor Shal are well prepared for the court hearing on Tuesday (February 18) at 4pm Malaysian time.

The trial which is expected to run for 10-days at the Solna District Court in Stockholm will see Shalwati and her husband Azizul Raheem Awaluddin plea their innocence for violating the integrity of their children.

The plaintiff which are Shalwati's four children, Aisyah, 14, Ammar, 12, Adam, 10 and Ariff, seven years old will however not testify in court.

At this point of time, Stahre said, it is difficult to predict the outcome of the trial because he does not know exactly what is going to be said in the court room.

“In Sweden, the court will only look at what is presented during the trial, and not what is written in papers. I know this is different from the Malaysian judicial system where a lot of written statements and things like that are used, but in Sweden everything is oral. And everything needs to be presented in court at a trial.”

Stahre said he will work towards creating a reasonable doubt seeing the large amount of material and evidence that consist of basically the four children’s story.

Stahre also said there are no direct witnesses that have seen any abuse from his client or her husband and that Shalwati is ready and confident to provide her testimony in court.

Shalwati and Azizul were charged last Monday for abusing their children, after being held under custody since December 18, 2013.

Should they be convicted, they will face a maximum of 6 years jail term and be deported from Sweden upon its completion.