http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7505305.stmA British man is appealing against a conviction in Ghana for indecently assaulting a three-year-old girl.
Thomas Tichler, 57, a retired banker from Hertfordshire, was jailed for two years in February.
The charity Fair Trials International has disputed the medical evidence used to convict him and says the girl was too young to give evidence.
The appeal court, sitting in Accra, is reserving judgement on the case until later this year.
Medical evidence
The case stems from an invitation accepted last year by Tichler, who was in Ghana at the time volunteering for a charity.
He was invited to a local man's house, where he was left to play with the family's children.
When the family's three-year-old daughter went to the toilet, her mother found blood in the little girl's urine and her underwear.
Tichler was convicted of indecently assaulting the girl and causing her harm and sentenced to two years for each offence, to run concurrently.
His defence team says the blood could have been the result of innocent horseplay, as Tichler lifted the girl onto his shoulders.
It says the medical evidence presented by the prosecution could equally support its explanation of what happened.
Defence lawyers argue the girl's testimony in court was an important factor in Tichler's conviction and are concerned that she may have been too young for her evidence to have been relied upon.
Joe Stone, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, has been advising the Tichler family on their appeal.
He said: "[Children] start speaking at two and being able to articulate with something as sensitive as this, there really is some concern as to whether the child understands what is being said."
Child's evidence
The Ghanaian legal system is based upon the English courts, which is a legacy of its colonial past.
When children give evidence in courts in England and Wales, the judge has to determine whether the child understands the questions put to them and whether the answers they give are comprehensible.
"That two-part competency test, which is standard and mandatory here didn't take place," Mr Stone said.
"I think the judge asked whether the child understood the importance of telling truth and lies but there was no further investigation into the child."
My own view is that you've at least as much chance of a fair trial in Ghana as you would have in the UK
Craig Murray
Former UK diplomat
The London-based charity Fair Trials International has taken on Tichler's case.
The head of the legal team, Sabine Zanker, is worried about political interference.
She said: "This was hyped up by politicians, including the attorney general, who in Ghana is also the justice minister.
"When Tom was initially charged with a lesser offence, he went public and said it was very important to protect Ghanaian children from white paedophiles and he thought he should be charged with a much more serious offence."
'Fair hearing'
Craig Murray, a former diplomat who was deputy high commissioner to Ghana, says he does not know of a single incident involving a British national where there was reason to suspect they had not received a fair hearing.
"My own view is that you've at least as much chance of a fair trial in Ghana as you would have in the UK," he said.
Two of Mr Tichler's sons have been in Accra to see their father's appeal.
The eldest, James, insists his father is innocent.
"He's certainly never displayed any behaviour like what he's been accused of towards me or my brothers," he said.
"I don't think I'll accept that he's guilty unless he came and told me he was."
The attorney general of Ghana, Joe Ghartey, told the BBC that he could not comment directly on the case.
He said the country had a very independent judiciary and that any comments he made would not have made any difference to the outcome of the trial.
His team has been appealing for a longer prison sentence for Tichler, arguing that the circumstances of the case do not support the length of the sentence originally handed down by the judge.
![Nairaland [Nigerian Forum] Home](http://www.nairaland.com/Themes/default/images/english/home.gif)
Author
