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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Woman cleared of judge blackmail | Woman cleared of judge blackmail |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A cleaner has been cleared of stealing two sex videos from a male judge and blackmailing a female judge. | A cleaner has been cleared of stealing two sex videos from a male judge and blackmailing a female judge. |
| Roselane Driza, 37, was jailed for 33 months in October 2006 after being convicted of blackmail and theft. | Roselane Driza, 37, was jailed for 33 months in October 2006 after being convicted of blackmail and theft. |
| She later won an appeal against her convictions and was told she faced a retrial due to begin next month. | |
| But at a pre-trial hearing the Crown Prosecution Service said it has decided not to proceed with the case as the two judges were too ill to give evidence. | |
| Brazilian Miss Driza, of South Norwood, south London, was sentenced last October for stealing videos from her lover, Judge Mohammed Ilyas Khan, and for blackmailing a female judge, known as Judge J, for £20,000. | |
| But on appeal she was cleared of blackmailing 61-year-old Judge Khan, with whom she had an affair and had been living with until her arrest. | But on appeal she was cleared of blackmailing 61-year-old Judge Khan, with whom she had an affair and had been living with until her arrest. |
| Justice has been done Roselane Driza | Justice has been done Roselane Driza |
| The exact grounds for appeal cannot be reported except that it was on the basis of new evidence. | The exact grounds for appeal cannot be reported except that it was on the basis of new evidence. |
| Both judges had been employing Driza illegally. | |
| The Office for Judicial Complaints, which has been investigating the behaviour of the two immigration judges, said the dropping of the charges would prompt a review of the case. | |
| After Friday's hearing at the old Bailey, Miss Driza said outside court: "Justice has been done. I am very happy and very proud of God." | |
| Visa application | |
| She added she is no longer a cleaner and has been unemployed for two years while her visa application is considered by the home office. | She added she is no longer a cleaner and has been unemployed for two years while her visa application is considered by the home office. |
| Her counsel, Frances Oldham QC told the court: "Miss Driza has been vilified by the Crown as a blackmailer. | Her counsel, Frances Oldham QC told the court: "Miss Driza has been vilified by the Crown as a blackmailer. |
| "She has never accepted that she is anything other than innocent of these matters." | "She has never accepted that she is anything other than innocent of these matters." |
| He said both prosecution witnesses, J and Judge Khan, have been ill and there is no prospect of them taking the stand "at a trial in August or possibly ever". | |
| Judge Martin Stephens said the order banning identification of the woman Judge J must remain despite Miss Driza's counsel asking for it to be lifted. | |