Friday, September 30, 2011

Cab driver sews his mouth shut after being fired following conviction for assaulting woman passenger

A cab driver has sewn his mouth shut as a protest after being fired following his conviction for assaulting a woman passenger.
Hassan Hoviat-Doust, 43, has been staging a hunger strike outside Bristol Magistrates' Court since 10am on Monday.
Hoviat-Doust - who cannot speak because of the thick cotton thread binding his lips together - wrote on a piece of paper: 'I am a taxi driver who was wrongly convicted of common assault and I have lost my job.
Unspeakable: Cab driver Hassan Hoviat-Doust has sewn his mouth 
shut and is protesting outside Bristol Magistrates Court over his 
conviction for assault
Unspeakable: Cab driver Hassan Hoviat-Doust has sewn his mouth shut and is protesting outside Bristol Magistrates Court over his conviction for assault
'I have been on hunger strike since my protest started at 10.40am on September 26.
'I am here because none of my evidence was considered by the court even though it was strong.'
Asked why he had stitched his mouth shut, he wrote: 'If you have no right to speak, you have no right to defence.'
Protest: Hoviat-Doust has been outside the court with banners 
since Monday morning
Protest: Hoviat-Doust has been outside the court with banners since Monday morning
Hoviat-Doust has lost his taxi driver's licence as a result of the conviction and is now unable to support his 16-month-old son and wife, who is 19 weeks pregnant.
He was also given an eight-week community order after the trial heard how he had argued with a female passenger about a daytime fare on July 17 last year.
The woman is then said to have rung his taxi office to complain before he became abusive.
Prosecutors claimed he then assaulted her by stopping the taxi, taking her out of the vehicle and leaving her on the ground and driving off.
Hoviat-Doust, of Brentry, Bristol, maintains she was being abusive towards him and that he opened the door and asked her to leave, which she eventually did.
He was found guilty of common assault on June 6 and given an eight-week community order and a tagged curfew between 7pm and 7am.
He was ordered to pay £200 compensation to his victim and court costs of £620.
Stitched up: Hoviat-Doust insists that he is innocent of 
assaulting a woman passenger
Stitched up: Hoviat-Doust insists that he is innocent of assaulting a woman passenger
A spokeswoman for Bristol City Council confirmed that Hoviat-Doust's licence had been suspended by the council in June following his conviction.
She said: 'The council has an overriding duty to maintain safety.
'As a result of Mr Hoviat-Doust's conviction for violent assault against a female passenger, his licence as Hackney Carriage driver was suspended in accordance with council policy.'
The spokeswoman said the cab driver had not appealed against the loss of his licence.

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