"My client is innocent of all the serious charges
against him," Wael Jawharji told a press conference in Jeddah on Monday.
He said he expected to receive a reply to his request to
drop the charges from the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution within two
weeks.
The brother of the suspect claimed at the press conference
that one of the investigators asked him to sign a report stating that his
brother was psychologically sick or under a magical spell to secure his
release.
"I would never have defended the accused if I was not
sure of his innocence," the lawyer said, and expressed hope his client
would soon be acquitted.
Jawharji blamed the media for defaming his client and his
family but ruled out any legal action.
"However, we are ready to take the media to court if
they continue to defame my client," he said, asking the media to use the
term “detained” instead of “suspect” or “accused” to refer to the teacher.
The lawyer said he was holding the press conference to
influence public opinion in favor of the suspect following substantial negative
coverage about him.
He said the police broke a number of laws, such as
preventing his client from appointing a lawyer until he had been detained for a
month. "I was not allowed to visit my client though I have official
authorization from the family. I was excluded from some questioning sessions
with my client," he said.
The lawyer said the prison’s director justified these
actions by claiming the issue was sensitive. "This was not a convincing
enough explanation for me," he said.
Jawharji said his client was still under investigation and
that no official charges were made against him. He, however, explained that the
Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution has the right to detain a suspect for
six months without charge.
The brother of the accused said there was substantial
evidence proving his innocence. "The alleged victims did not recognize
him. Some of them who identified him as their attacker also said the same thing
about the other suspect who was released. The DNA did not match with that of my
brother," he said.
