The legal representatives of tennis player Nick Kyrgios have argued before an Australian court on Tuesday that the athlete suffers from mental health problems with the aim of dismissing the abuse charges filed by his ex-partner against him.
The 27-year-old player was charged last July with a common assault charge for allegedly mistreating Chiara Passari, his ex-girlfriend.
The events date back to December 2021 and the athlete faces, if convicted, a two-year prison sentence.
Judge Glenn Theakston, of the Australian Capital Territory Magistrates Court, has accepted that a mental health evaluation of Kyrgios be carried out and has postponed the process until February 3, at the request of the defense, according to the network. from local TV
Nine.
Australian law dictates that magistrates have the power to dismiss a case if they believe an accused person has a mental disability, considering that treating a case in such a way would be beneficial to both the accused and the public.
Kyrgios did not appear at the hearing on Tuesday because he is participating in the Japan Open, which is being held in Tokyo, although his lawyer has insisted in court that his client "prefers to appear in person" at the trial, the lawyer added.
The tennis player's lawyer, Michael Kukulies-Smith, is based on his client's "medical history since 2015, including public disclosures of his mental health problems", without going into more detail, notes
The Sydney Morning Herald.
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