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87-year-old British politician ordered to court

August 7, 2015

Amid 22 alleged child abuse offences, a judge says Lord Greville Janner must attend a court hearing, despite having Alzheimer's disease. His lawyers say the condition is too advanced for him to stand trial.

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Lord Greville Janner
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot

An 87-year-old British politician with dementia has been ordered to appear in court in person to face a string of child sex abuse charges.

Before now, Lord Greville Janner's lawyers claimed he was too ill to attend Friday's hearing and any future trial, which was set to hear allegations of 22 offenses against nine victims.

But the court's Chief Magistrate decided that he should attend the formal hearing, ignoring the advice of two dementia experts, who both described the severity of the politician's neurological disease.

One explained how Janner would not even understand he was in court.

The hearing, which may only last a few minutes, will go ahead in-person. The judge said he was even prepared to consider establishing a court in the Greville's home where he would be free to leave the room if he becomes distressed.

Trial still uncertain

Despite having enough evidence to take Janner to trial, initially prosecutors decided not to bring charges due to his Alzheimer's condition but they u-turned following criticism from his alleged victims.

The crimes are said to have taken place between 1963 and 1988 when he was an MP for Britain's Labour Party. He denies using his position to abuse vulnerable boys at a local children's home.

Legal experts think that if he is later declared unfit to enter a plea, a so-called "trial of the facts" would be held, without a ruling on guilt, innocence or a possible conviction.

Despite his condition, he still sits in Britain's upper parliament chamber, The House of Lords.

The next hearing is set for August 14.

The British establishment has been rocked by a series of high-profile child abuse scandals following revelations about BBC presenter Jimmy Savile after his death in 2011.

This week, several UK police forces opened investigations into whether former prime minister Edward Heath, who died in 2005, abused children. A British tabloid interviewed a man, who claimed that Heath raped him when he was 12 years old.

mm/bw (AFP, Reuters)