Prosecutor and defence clash over absent witness

A prosecutor and defence lawyer argued in court after a witness called by the defence said they would not attend the trial of Georgios Ntentes, who is accused of killing a man. The dispute was reported by mbl.is.

Prosecutor Karl Ingi Vilbergsson said he saw no reason to summon the witness to court. Defence lawyer Ómar Örn Bjarnþórsson questioned whether the prosecutor should call the witness, but Karl Ingi said no.

The court was already 80 minutes behind schedule, and those present agreed that further delays would be unwelcome. They decided not to discuss the matter in court before Ómar and Karl Ingi spoke. Ómar said he would try to find the witness, adding that this might not happen before the end of the week.

The judge again expressed concern about how long the hearing was taking, saying time might have to be taken from other court days. The main hearing was scheduled to continue on Wednesday and Thursday, with the defence due to present its arguments on Friday.