The sister of murdered teacher Sabina Nessa has joined calls to force killers to appear in court for sentencing.
Jebina Yasmin Islam told Justice Secretary Dominic Raab “actions speak louder than words” as he dragged his feet over promised changes to the law.
She was backed by David Blunkett, the Labour former home secretary, who told the Mirror it was possible to get the ball rolling on changing the law now.
He said Mr Raab could force offenders to stand in the dock as part of the Victims and Prisoners Bill that is currently making its way through Parliament.
While he acknowledged the bill was in its early stages, he said as long as the families knew a change to the law was “in process”, he thought “that would bring satisfaction”.
Mr Raab’s spokesman insisted any changes to the law would be “outside of the scope” of the Victims and Prisoners Bill.
But Lord Blunkett said: “The fact that the title is the Victims and Prisoners bill gives them complete parliamentary cover for being able to include an aspect of this sort because it is to do with the prisoner.”
Urging the Government to take action for the sake of victims’ families, he added: “None of these things can bring back the loved one, but they can indicate that we're not going to be messed about by people who have committed heinous crimes.”
Ministers have this week faced renewed pressure after Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s murderer Thomas Cashman refused to leave his cell and face the tragic nine-year-old’s family on Monday.
Mr Raab said on Tuesday: “Spineless criminals like Cashman who hide from their sentencing prolong the suffering of victims and their families.
“As I have already made clear, I plan to change the law to compel offenders to face up to their actions, so victims can see the justice they deserve being served.”
However he is yet to set a timescale, saying only it will be before the next election – possibly in 2025.
Ms Islam hit back after having called for action multiple times after her sister Sabina’s killer Koci Selamaj, 36, refused to attend his sentencing hearing last April.
“When will you ever put this into action?” she asked. “How many more families will go through this?”
Lisa Squire, whose 21-year-old daughter Libby was raped and murdered in 2019, yesterday called for Mr Raab to hand longer jail sentences to criminals who refuse to attend sentencing hearings.
Ms Squire, who now campaigns against sexual offences, read out a statement to her daughter's murderer Pawel Relowicz in court, as he was jailed for a minimum term of 27 years.
She said: "It was really important for me to tell him what he had done, you almost take back a bit of their power by watching them be handed down their sentence. I wanted him to know how we felt and what Libby meant to us."
Ms Squire added she "felt sorry" that Olivia’s family never had the opportunity to see Cashman sentenced in court.
"He's holding all the cards, he's holding all the control, and when your child or loved one has been murdered you don't have any control, so just to claim a little control, it means a lot," she said.
Farah Naz, who lost niece Zara Aleena in June last year, said on Tuesday the justice process felt “incomplete” when killer Jordan McSweeney snubbed his sentencing in December.
She said: “We’d wanted to face him when reading our victim impact statements.”
She also called on Mr Raab “to move forward with developing this law”.
Labour has vowed to give judges the option to force defendants to attend sentencing and suggested punish-ing no-shows as contempt of court.
Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed said: “Yet another day has gone past, and the Tory government has stood by while killers, rapists and terrorists pick and choose whether they turn up to face justice.
“It is grossly offensive to victims that criminals can refuse to face the consequences of their crimes in court. For their families, this can be a vital part of seeing justice done.”
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