A sheriff has apologised to a young Aberdeen nurse after she was arrested and taken to court in handcuffs following a paperwork mix-up.
Miah Duffy, 22, spent a “degrading” night in the cells after she was falsely accused of contempt of court because she had gone to Ibiza on holiday.
The NHS worker was arrested because she didn’t appear as a witness at a trial in June.
However, it emerged she had in fact emailed the Crown Office in advance to advise them of the pre-booked sunshine break.
Despite getting an email back thanking her for letting them know she wouldn’t be able to attend, the message was never passed on to court staff and an arrest warrant was granted.
Defence agent John Hardie said: “It’s a failure of the administrative system of the Crown Office to alert the depute in court.”
Miah, who was led into the dock of Aberdeen Sheriff Court in handcuffs, said: “To be falsely arrested and spend the night in custody is completely degrading and embarrassing.”
‘Take off those handcuffs’
Sheriff Janys Scott QC also expressed her outrage at the situation, branding it “egregious” and ordering the court security staff to remove Miah’s handcuffs immediately.
“It appears that the Crown have not covered themselves in glory,” Sheriff Scott said.
“Take off those handcuffs, please. I’m sorry you have had to wear those.”
She made no finding of contempt.
The auxiliary nurse said her nightmare began at around 12.30am last Friday when she woke up to find police officers at the door of her flat.
“When I opened the door and saw police I honestly thought someone had died,” she said. “But then they said ‘Do you know why we’re here? We’re here to arrest you.’
“I showed the police black and white evidence of me having communications with the procurator fiscal and them confirming that they’d received my email, so they already knew I wasn’t going to be there.
“The officers contacted the duty sergeant back at the station and told them this, but they were told I still had to be arrested.
“I was put into the back of a police van but thankfully they said I didn’t need to wear handcuffs.”
Still no apology from Crown Office
After an anxious night in a cells at Kittybrewster Police Station – where she was checked on every 30 minutes – Miah was taken to Aberdeen Sheriff Court at 10am in a van full of male prisoners.
Describing the mix-up, she said:Â “I did mention the name and the date, so it’s not like they wouldn’t have known at all what the case was.
“I just think it was a waste of their time, a waste of my time and if they actually had better communication and a better system it wouldn’t have happened.
“Instead I was treated like a criminal.”
She said she was pleased the sheriff had publicly apologised to her – but, so far, no one from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has.
Miah, who does not want to be photographed because she still feels so uncomfortable about the court’s mistake, said: “I’m a frontline worker – the fact I was accused of such a serious crime could be very detrimental to my career.
“For the sheriff to say to take the handcuffs off me immediately is telling a story.
“I thought the fiscal or Crown Office might apologise to me after the case, but they haven’t yet.”
The Press and Journal asked the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to comment on the case.
A spokeswoman would only say: “We note the comments of the sheriff.”
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