Jamaica Observer: KINGSTON – Reggae singer Jah Cure was detained and will continue serving his six-year sentence for attempted manslaughter in the Netherlands after a judge’s ruling on Tuesday.
The singer is awaiting a hearing relating to an appeal by the Dutch prosecutors against his acquittal on an attempted murder charge earlier this year.
The Behind These Prison Walls singer appeared in court on Tuesday for a pro forma hearing in relation to an ongoing appeal by the Public Prosecution Office in the Netherlands.
OBSERVER ONLINE understands that the pro forma hearing was held to determine if Jah Cure should be detained for another 90 day period until such time as a hearing can be scheduled.
“There is no (substantial) hearing date scheduled yet (for the appeal), hence the pro forma hearing,” Tuscha Essed, press officer at the Public Prosecution Office to the Court of Appeals in the Netherlands, said.
“Once we have the entire dossier files ready (which goes through several administrative steps after the first trial) the hearing will be planned. The court of appeals looks over the case again and their ruling will overrule the previous ruling by the district court,” Essed added.
According to Dutch law, a pro forma hearing is held while an inmate is awaiting a court date for the actual trial, during which a judge has to decide about the incarceration (whether to keep a suspect incarcerated or not) every 90 days.
The reggae singer is scheduled to return on November 1.
In March 2022, Jah Cure, 43, whose real name is Siccature Alcock, was acquitted of an attempted murder charge, but convicted of the lesser offense of attempted manslaughter on March 22 in relation to the stabbing of a promoter over unpaid money in October 2021. He was sentenced to six years in prison in The Netherlands.
Following the sentence, Dutch prosecutors appealed to the court against the acquittal of the attempted murder charge.
Jah Cure is familiar with how the criminal justice system operates as he has had several brushes with the law. He was convicted of rape and illegal possession of a firearm in April 1999 and served eight of a 15-year sentence in prison. He was released in July 2007.
