Sarah Groves' family say murder trial has 'descended into farce and ridicule'

The family of murdered Guernseywoman Sarah Groves says the trial into her death has descended into 'farce and ridicule'.

It comes after little progress in court, where Dutchman Richard De Wit is accused of her murder.

Sarah's body was found on a houseboat in Kashmir in April 2013.

Richard de Wit's trial in Srinagar has been plagued by delays and inconsistencies.

Yesterday saw the third hearing under the new jurisdiction of the Second Additional Magistrates’ Court, Srinagar.

The new Prosecutor, Mr Mohammad Sultan, was not in court. His nominated stand-in was also not in court. However, a third Prosecutor was temporarily assigned to the day’s proceedings.

There are still more than 16 witnesses to be heard, which Mr Groves says at the rate of one every three weeks means that 'the trial is still nowhere near a conclusion'.

He claims if four or five witnesses had been heard over the past two days, the trial would have reached an end 'well before the end of 2017'.