Riel Karmy-Jones is a criminal practitioner with a strong prosecution practice who also defends in cases of all levels of complexity and seriousness. She has recently been described by some of those who instruct her as a “brilliant communicator”, who is “personable, professional and polite”, and has a “persuasive and calm approach that is very beneficial in front of a jury”.
Riel has experience of the complete calendar of criminal offences, but particularly specialises in serious and organised crime. She has over 12 years experience of homicide cases, including both high-profile and historic prosecutions. She has appeared at the Central Criminal Court as leading counsel, and also frequently as junior counsel in multi-handed murder trials. She is a Grade 4 Advocate (the highest rank) for the Crown Prosecution Service.
Riel has extensive experience of serious sexual offences, and has successfully conducted many difficult trials, including those involving allegations of historic sexual abuse and rape, violent stranger rape, rape of a prostitute, and cases involving children, both as victims and accused. She has been noted by a number of those who instruct her as being particularly good with vulnerable victims, putting them at ease and so drawing the best evidence from them.
Riel has a developing practice in people trafficking cases, and is currently leading Jonathan Chibafa of 18 RLC in R v. Zlate and others, a complex case involving the trafficking of a man and child from Romania for the purposes of exploitation. The case also involves allegations of false imprisonment, assault by penetration, and male rape. She also recently prosecuted R v. Anthony Harrison, an investigation into an organised and international criminal network that systematically trafficked girls into the UK from Nigeria for the purposes of sexual exploitation. In order to do so, the victims were threatened with JuJu black magic. This was a groundbreaking case, it being the first time the prosecution have been able to persuade the Nigerian victims to give evidence. It is also the first case of its kind to involve trafficking both into and out of the UK, and as a result of this prosecution, the UK Border Agency has seen a clear halt to the trafficking of African girls and women into the UK. This case was recognised by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, and it made the top story in his “success of the month” list for September 2011.
Riel has considerable experience in complex and high profile terrorism cases which, by their very nature, include a wide range of sensitive issues, including difficult questions of disclosure and cross jurisdictional issues. She was instructed for the prosecution in the notable cases of R v. Dhiron Barot and 7 others (the investigation of Dhiron Barot and his Al Qaeda cell who had planned pre-9/11 attacks in the US and a UK campaign, represented the biggest counter-terrorism operation of its sort at the time of their arrests in the summer of 2005); R v. Saleem, Brooks and 6 others (the preachers of hate case involving offences of inciting terrorism and fundraising) and Operation Theseus (the prosecution of associates of the 7/7 bombers). More recently Riel has prosecuted R v.Luty , which involved a number of offences of making a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, namely by distributing instructions on the construction of handguns over the internet, and R v. Kauser, the case of “the memory stick man”, who collected a electronic library of information likely to be of use to a terrorist (due to be sentenced in January 2012).
Riel has experience of POCA offences and the ancillary proceedings that flow from them. She prosecuted in Operation Rize, the large scale investigation into the use of safety deposit boxes to store criminal property in London, and is currently instructed in the confiscation proceedings. She also conducted the prosecution of R v. Paul Bint, the serial confidence trickster, who posed as Kier Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Riel has frequently appeared in the Court of Appeal, having advised and appeared on behalf of the Attorney General on a number of occasions in respect of Unduly Lenient Sentence Appeals, and her written work has been singled out for praise by The Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Hooper.
Riel has advised for the defence in a number of private cases, and also for Amnesty International on a pro bono basis. She undertakes regulatory work and is frequently instructed by the General Medical Council. She also prosecutes on behalf of the Bar Standards Board.
Riel is a Grade 4 Prosecutor for the CPS, and is on the CPS list of approved advocates for Rape cases.
Other Cases of Note
- R v Henry – Prosecution (alone) – Attempted Murder - the 16 year old defendant who, after an altercation with the victim on a night bus in Maida Vale, stabbed him twice in the chest. The victim was unable to give evidence at trial, having suffered severe brain damage as a result of the attack.
- R v Meade - Leading for the Prosecution at the Central Criminal Court - Attempted Murder and Possession of a Firearm with Intent to Endanger Life
- R v Spence - Prosecution (alone) - Attempted Murder of a police officer, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and GBH
- R v JS and 5 others - Defence - Conspiracy to evade the duty payable on over 3 million cigarettes. Defendant and others caught as cigarettes being unloaded at a warehouse
- R v. Boadu– stranger rape at the Rainforest cafe;
- R v. Frolovas and Djuodinis – violent multiple rape of a prostitute and robbery of both her and her maid;
- R v Stewart - Prosecution (Junior) - A case of Murder, which has developed on the authority of R v Wood in cases of diminished responsibility arising out of alcohol dependency syndrome.
