A babysitter who was jailed for shaking a baby has been given permission to appeal her conviction.
Syeda Begum, 29, was locked up for three years in April for assaulting an eight-month old infant at an address in Aberdeen.
Begum was acting as a childminder and was looking after the child at the time of the incident.
Now, lawyers for Begum have launched an appeal against her conviction.
During a short hearing at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh yesterday, defence advocate Frances Connor argued that her client had legitimate grounds for the bid.
She told appeal judges Lord Carloway, Lord Glennie and Lord Turnbull that the evidence showed that other people may have been responsible for shaking the baby.
A judge at an earlier stage of proceedings had refused to allow this ground to progress.
But the appeal judges concluded the ground could be reinstated.
Lord Carloway said: “We give permission for the appeal to proceed.”
During the trial, expert medical evidence was that the victim’s injuries could have resulted from “an unplanned and momentary loss of control” by Begum.
Judge Lord Uist said: “She could have died had it not been for the excellent treatment she received from the paramedics who attended the scene and the doctors and nurses at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.”
The child appeared to have had made a good recovery.
Begum’s appeal is expected to be heard in the new year.
