Dogged battle for open justice
ON March 22, 2012, Mr Khuja was arrested at his home in Garsington, Oxford, on suspicion of causing prostitution of girls under 18.
Two days later his solicitors got a district judge at Wycombe Magistrates’ Court to grant a Contempt of Court Act order to prevent publication of his name. They claimed this could prevent him having a fair trial.
In January 2013 the Old Bailey grooming trial started and Mr Khuja’s lawyers convinced the judge to impose another contempt order banning publication of his name during the evidence. The judge ruled it could prejudice a future trial because he was then on bail. In July, the police tell Mr Khuja he has been released from bail without charge.
That October a judge ruled the Contempt of Court order should be lifted but his lawyers told the High Court he had a right to privacy under the European Human Rights Convention. Media lawyers said press freedom and open justice were more important.
The High Court rejected his application as did the Court of Appeal in 2014. He was granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court but yesterday, by a 5-2 majority, it ruled that he had no ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’ under human rights laws.