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28th November 2016
01:06pm GMT
"My wife had a miscarriage because of my arbitrary arrest, which upset my life and that of my family ..."Treebhoowon, who was cleared in 2012, filed the lawsuit through his lawyer, Sanjeev Teeluckdharry, and attorney Richard Toulouse. The former valet of the Legends Hotel, now known as the Lux* Hotel, where Michaela was found dead, is seeking compensation for trauma, humiliation, and stress. In addition to the State, he has named the Commissioner of Police, the Major Crime Investigation Team, former Commissioner of Police Soopun and a number of other high-ranking officers in his complaint. Avinash Treebhoowon, who was arrested the day after Michaela Harte's murder, stated:
"This arrest was not based on a reasonable suspicion and was totally unfair. In addition, the police misled the public by alleging that they had obtained DNA evidence and videos from the surveillance camera."The complainant also states that investigators were not able to sufficiently analyse fingerprints in the room, particularly on the bathtub where Michaela was found and on shoes discovered on her bed:
"The investigators were not able to analyse the water in the bathtub and the traces of blood and hair in it."He argued that police should have demanded that John McAreavey, the husband of the victim, be examined by a forensic pathologist. Treebhoowon also states that the surveillance cameras near the hotel room should have been viewed. Also, Treebhoowon, who worked at the hotel for four years, alleges that he was tortured during his 18-month incarceration. In his complaint, he further alleges that he was threatened with a firearm by the former Commissioner of Police:
"I was even forbidden to have a private interview with my lawyer; the policemen forced me to make a false confession and brutalised me."Because of this, Avinash Treebhoowon claims to have been:
"very stressed and depressed during the trial which was very trying for my family and me. My family was very humiliated. People, especially those in my village, accused us of being a criminal family."He added that he has not been able to find a job since the end of the trial in 2012, despite the fact that he was cleared four years ago:
"I could not go back to the hotel where I worked. My barbaric torture, arbitrary arrest, and humiliation are serious problems."Following the lengthy murder trial, Mr Treebhoowoon and his co-accused Sandip Moneea were declared not guilty by a jury of nine in a unanimous verdict. A statement released by the McAreavey and Harte families after the trial said that they had no words to describe the sense of devastation and desolation felt by both families. Join the conversation on Twitter @HerFamilydotie
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