LONDON: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK has decided to drop a common assault criminal case against Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s former close-protection bodyguard, Farid Nemouchi. The decision was announced during a hearing at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The case stemmed from an incident in which Nemouchi was accused of spitting on Panzani Cheema, a respected financial sector senior executive based in London. Initially, the CPS had expressed its intention to charge Nemouchi with common assault following Cheema’s complaint. However, during the court hearing, the prosecution informed the judge that it would not proceed with the case, citing insufficient evidence to support a realistic prospect of success.
Nemouchi, accompanied by his lawyer Barrister Moeen Khan, appeared before the court to face trial but was relieved to learn that the charges against him had been dropped. His lawyer expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that his client’s innocence had been maintained throughout the legal process. He emphasized that the defense was prepared to vigorously contest the allegations.
Speaking outside the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Barrister Moeen Khan lamented the politicization of the case and highlighted the stress endured by Nemouchi. The guard, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, expressed relief that the case against him had been resolved.
Barrister Moeen, said: “The CPS has confirmed to the court ahead of the start of the trial that the common assault charge against Farid Nemouchi has been discontinued. This is the outcome we wanted to ensure there is no conviction in our client’s name. We were planning to defend our client robustly. We were in touch with the prosecution service throughout and maintained our client was not guilty of the alleged offence. We are glad that the case has been dropped.”
The incident, which occurred on September 16 last year, garnered widespread attention after Cheema accused Nemouchi of spitting on her face following a verbal altercation. The encounter, captured on Cheema’s phone, sparked a flurry of media coverage and circulated rapidly on social media platforms.
Nemouchi, an Algerian-trained martial arts expert who had served as Nawaz Sharif’s security detail during the former premier’s exile in London, faced potential ramifications, including imprisonment, fines, and the loss of his security license, if found guilty.
Namuchi works for Systematic Security, owned by Ahsan Dar whose brother is a PML-N provincial assembly member from Gujranwala.
