Friday 20 September 2019

Essex man skips bail after interpreter 'not available'


20 September 2019

Essex man skips bail after interpreter 'not available'
A man has gone missing after being released from court because an interpreter could not be found.
Halwest Muradi, 24, was charged with rape, attempted rape and sexual assault after a woman was attacked in Colchester in November.
Mr Muradi was last seen at Colchester Magistrates' Court on 2 August.
Without an interpreter present, the prosecution could not continue within the 24-hour custody limit and he was released.
Mr Muradi, who is of Iranian descent, was first arrested on 31 July and appeared in court the same day.
He was given bail conditions requiring him to remain at home but was arrested in a van in Kent for breaching bail on 1 August and returned to Colchester Magistrates' Court the next day.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: "In this case, an interpreter was required for the case to proceed on Friday 2 August.
"The information received by the court from the interpreting service was that an interpreter would not be available and, despite strenuous efforts by the court to find another interpreter, it was not possible to do so."
Essex Police said it was searching for Mr Muradi, who is described as 5ft 7ins (1.7m) and of medium build with short, dark hair.

Wednesday 18 September 2019

Business secretary urged to set court interpreting standards


18 September 2019 by Monidipa Fouzder

Business secretary urged to set court interpreting standards
The business secretary has been urged by a voluntary regulator for interpreters to take action over 'Wild West' conditions that have resulted in courts struggling to find suitably qualified linguists.
The National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) raised concerns with Andrea Leadsom after Bolton-based Debonair Languages ceased operations last month. It was a subcontractor for Leeds-headquartered thebigword, which was awarded a Ministry of Justice contract in 2016. 
The NRPSI said numerous registered interpreters are owed 'considerable' amounts of money. Interpreters were 'turning to thebigword for information only to be turned away and advised to take the issues with Debonair Languages' liquidators'.
The letter says: 'This is a horrifying case and the way interpreters have been treated is nothing short of contemptible. Sadly, however, it only serves to punctuate the ongoing poor treatment and unfair remuneration of qualified and experienced public service interpreters more generally due to inadequately written frameworks; the performance indicators set by the public services focusing on price and supply at the expense of quality; and the need for privately-owned language agencies to compete on price to win public sector language service contracts and then squeeze the fees they offer to interpreters to preserve their profit margins.'
'The result of this situation is to lower engagement fees to unacceptably low levels and foster the use of linguists who are not qualified interpreters, lesser qualified and even unqualified interpreters, and bilinguals who are willing to work for reduced fees.'
The NRPSI alleges that 'Wild West' conditions have led to public service language contracts 'being awarded on cost and supply considerations with no or inadequate quality demands'.
The NRPSI calls for mandatory standards for privately-owned language agencies providing public services 'to avoid future situations where other privately-owned agencies can be assigned as sub-contractors without effective oversight by either the public service or the principal agency'.