Questionable

The decision by the court to keep an 82-year-old suspect incarcerated until at least his trial date of December 7 shows in a rather unexpected way that everybody is equal under the law.

The octogenarian is a suspect in an arms dealing investigation – a serious matter for sure. While he complained to the court about his detention conditions, saying that he could not take it a day longer, the prosecution maintained that the man is not unfit for incarceration.

The court considered the defendant’s (unspoken) request for a suspension of his detention, but in the end turned it down.

That this is tough for an old man is beyond question. At the same time, the charges against this defendant are so serious that the court does not want to offer him the luxury of house arrest.

From a humane point of view this is rather questionable, because it is hard to see how a super senior could go astray again while the rest of his family is still locked up. But then, maybe the defendant should not have gotten involved in arms dealing.