Accused in Swiss cold case released on bail

Police at the scene of the slaying in Basel, Switzerland in 2000.

A Sri Lankan man accused of murdering a woman in Switzerland in 2000 has been released on bail.

Judge David Sharp also continued the 42-year-old's name suppression after the defendant's lawyer Grant Illingworth, QC, raised the argument of fair trial-rights abroad.

The man had lived in New Zealand for 13 years before being arrested last month over the killing of the woman, said to be his partner, in Basel 14 years ago.

Kavitha Kandiah, 23, also from Sri Lanka, was found stabbed to death in the kitchen of her Basel apartment in December, 2000.

The man was arrested in Auckland after an international search involving Interpol, Auckland police and Swiss authorities.

At Auckland District Court today, Judge Sharp granted the electronic-bail application. His reasons and the argument preceding the judgement cannot be reported.In addressing the issue of name suppression, Mr Illingworth said the identification of the alleged offender was "really quite messy".

A man was apprehended by Swiss police after an incident at a train station in 1998.

He was not charged with an offence but was fingerprinted.

The prints matched those of a person who arrived in New Zealand in 2001 and were allegedly connected to the killing of Ms Kandiah.

Mr Illingworth said there was a serious issue with that protracted chain of identification.

He requested his client's name be suppressed so as not to prejudice the Swiss legal process, should extradition eventually take place.

However, Crown lawyer Simon Barr said the publication of a name did not necessarily jeopardise a fair trial.

He said there were strong public interest factors in people knowing the man's identity and naming him would take the spotlight off the rest of the Sri Lankan community in Auckland.

Judge Sharp disagreed and continued the suppression order until an extradition eligibility hearing, which would likely take place next year.

The small-business owner had been living in New Zealand since 2001, police said, and had started a family with a woman over here.

She watched today's proceedings and alternated between crying with her head bowed and looking upwards with her hands clasped together. Swiss media had reported that the accused man had worked as a waiter in a Basel restaurant but disappeared shortly after the murder.

The case will be back before the court in November.