A lawyer for a man facing a theft charge related to the Michaela McAreavey murder investigation has criticised the prosecution process after he said the case had been further adjourned.
Former resort security guard Dassen Narayanen was provisionally charged earlier this year with conspiracy to commit larceny in relation to the honeymooner’s hotel room in Mauritius.
The 27-year-old was strangled in her room at the Legends Hotel on the Indian Ocean island on January 10 2011.
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The Co Tyrone teacher, who had married John McAreavey 10 days earlier, was attacked after she returned to her room alone and disturbed a burglary.
No-one has been convicted of murdering the daughter of Gaelic football manager Mickey Harte.
Narayanen, 37, from Royal Road, Plaine des Papayes, was charged with conspiracy to commit larceny along with another former employee of the hotel.
He and Sandip Moneea, who in 2012 was acquitted of Mrs McAreavey’s murder, had been accused of conspiring with each other to steal a magnetic key card to the hotel room to commit theft. Both denied wrongdoing.
The case against Moneea, 52, of School Lane, Petit Raffray, was struck out at a court hearing in June, according to his lawyer.
At that point Narayanen’s barrister Vikash Teeluckdharry said a decision on the charge facing his client had been adjourned until July 25.
Mr Teeluckdharry said the case came before the magistrates’ court of Riviere du Rempart again on Monday and the prosecution asked for more time to confirm its position on the provisional charge.
The barrister said the case was further adjourned to September 15.
“Prosecution is making an abuse of the process of provisional charge, which in itself needs reform in this country,” he told the PA news agency.
“This case is a flagrant example to what extent police investigation is flawed in comparison to the modern safeguards available in Britain.”
In 2012, Moneea and another man were found not guilty of Mrs McAreavey’s murder after a high-profile trial on the holiday island.
Moneea and his co-accused in the murder trial, Avinash Treebhoowoon, worked as cleaners at the hotel at the time of the killing.
They denied any role in the honeymooner’s murder.
Police and prosecutors in Mauritius have been approached for comment.
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