Taxi driver Ricardo Alavijeh, who last week had his conviction for speeding thrown out of court, says that he has endured a campaign of harassment and victimisation by police over the last year.
Ricardo, from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, who has been working as a taxi driver for 17 years, claimed he was “maliciously prosecuted” after refusing to pick up a drunken woman in his taxi cab. He was subsequently fined £150 for speeding and given three points on his previously clean license. However, Mr Alavijeh, who always maintained his innocence, appealed the case and had his conviction quashed at the County Court in December.
Speaking to the Coleraine Times, Mr Alavijeh commented: “It’s been a year of complete hell. Police have been stopping and checking me at every opportunity, at least eight times in the past twelve months.”
After last week’s court verdict in favour of the cabbie, he added: “I just want the harassment to stop…I just want to earn an honest living like anyone else.”
A police spokesman said that anyone with a complaint against police should contact the Police Ombudsman.