They couple said they were amazed at how their case was handled at the Supreme Court. “The judges in the first few minutes said they read every document submitted to them. We felt very comfortable with them,” said Zohra-Azizi. “The judges spoke clear English. They asked us to tell them what happened, the exact things. We didn’t believe they went back to the beginning of the case. It was the first time in court that we felt the judges were very attentive to what we were saying.”
While Zohra-Azizi did the talking at the Supreme Court, her husband Mennad supported her all the way in their hotly contested case.
“The barrister for the defendants was confusing everything… [saying] we were abusing the court process by opening a fresh case at the High Court and appealing to the Supreme Court. But the judges immediately rejected it,” she said.
On where they found the determination to represent themselves, Zohra-Azizi add-ed: “I did not do law. It was the experience we gained from fighting for our rights over the last six years. We lost the battles, but we won the war.”
She also criticised solicitors and barristers who refused to take up their case against fellow members of the legal profession.
“We did not listen to many solicitors and senior counsels who strongly discouraged us from going to the Supreme Court. They said we would lose. I think they did not want us to go to the courts because the defendants were all solicitors.”
She continued: “In the Circuit Court we got an order against us without any explanation. By law, one gets a judgement as well as an order but there was no order by the Circuit Court. We were badly represented by our legal team in the Circuit Court and the High Court appeal.”
Mennad and Zohra-Azizi said they are planning to take legal action against their former solicitor.
chinedu@metroeireann.com
