Fabrice Di Vizio, lawyer of Dr Ochs, did not hide his anger over the conditions of the trial and even went as far as to leave the room in protest. Discussing the pandemic in general, the lawyer explained that everyone has done mistakes over the past three years and that his client had already been judged before entering the court room.
Di Vizio stated: “What poses a real difficulty in this case is that there is a prejudice against Dr Ochs. And we are paying the price of a real social cabal, that is to say, we can see what is going on. Dr Ochs had no rights in this procedure. ... The president didn’t even want to do the investigation at the hearing, he’s obliged to do it in terms of the law, but in fact it’s not worth doing a trial when you already have the decision beforehand.”
While the Medical College demanded a two-year ban from practicing, the defence of Dr Ochs argued that it is time to leave the past where it belongs as it is no longer possible to really determine what was right and what was wrong.
Di Vizio noted: “What I am asking for is the restoration of social peace. And what I ask is that if there is a conviction, that it be fully suspended. So that in concrete terms, he can practice again and we can move on to something else. What I don’t want is a decision that condemns him to a firm sentence, because well, we’ll appeal. But, we’re not just going to appeal, we’re going to lodge complaints, because there are successive violations of medical confidentiality on the part of the Medical College. The way in which the investigation was conducted at the hearing does not suit me at all. So we’re going to lodge complaints against the president of the hearing, because we cannot accept this.”
A verdict is scheduled to be announced on 19 April, after which an appeal can still be made.
