Lucerne couple remains silent before criminal court – animal cruelty charges
A 66-year-old man and his 62-year-old wife refused to answer questions before Lucerne's criminal court. They are accused of keeping cattle in distressing circumstances.
Lucerne couple remains silent before criminal court – animal cruelty charges
Before Lucerne's criminal court, a couple on Wednesday refused to provide any information. The 66-year-old man and his 62-year-old wife are accused of keeping cows under cramped conditions. This is reported by the Sarganserländer.
To every question posed by the judges, the older defendant responded with the words: "No statement". Even when photographs and video recordings, which allegedly showed the conditions in the stables, were presented to him, he remained silent. He merely referred to the closing argument, which in his view would clarify everything.
In the course of the proceedings, the defendant increasingly lost patience. Occasionally a question elicited a remark from him, but he immediately retracted it with another "no statement". "I'm getting slowly wound up", he let slip at one point. The only exception: questions from his wife's defence lawyer that exonerated him, which he answered.
The woman also refused to make any statement to the court. In response to a single question from her lawyer, she stated that she had been a housewife and had looked after work around the farm.
The prosecution accuses the couple of keeping the animals in intolerable conditions for an extended period.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)