FORMER diplomat and blogger Craig Murray has said he will “go to jail with a clean conscience” ahead of his eight-month jail term for contempt of court.
The former ambassador to Uzbekistan is due to start prison time imminently after judges ruled his blog coverage of former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond’s trial could identify four complainers.
Protesters will gather outside St Leonard’s Police Station in Edinburgh on Friday afternoon, with the Craig Murray Justice campaign group saying his conviction “sets a dangerous legal precedent for freedom of speech and equality before the law”.
The 62-year-old’s offending blog posts contained details which, if pieced together, could lead readers to identify women who made allegations against Salmond, who was acquitted of all 13 charges including sexual assault and attempted rape in May last year.
At a virtual sentencing in May, Lady Dorrian said Murray knew there were court orders giving the women anonymity and he was “relishing” the potential disclosure of their identities.
Lady Dorrian said that Murray deliberately risked what is known as “jigsaw identification”, saying: “It appears from the posts and articles that he was in fact relishing the task he set himself, which was essentially to allow the identities of complainers to be discerned – which he thought was in the public interest – in a way which did not attract sanction.”
READ MORE: Craig Murray to hand himself over to police to face jail sentence
On Friday, Murray tweeted that “in my absence the Craig Murray Justice Campaign will be continuing the fight”, linking to a statement which suggested he would start his jail term “with a clean conscience” on Friday.
Neale Hanvey, the Alba MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, said on Twitter he was “devastated and sickened by this development”, adding: “Scotland is no longer a safe, tolerant or free country.
“The vindictiveness of those who wield power is on naked display.”
Last month, Murray was refused in his bid to appeal the contempt finding against him at the UK Supreme Court, in a decision made by the High Court in Edinburgh In February, Clive Thomson, who tweeted the names of women who gave evidence against Salmond at his trial, was jailed for six months.
The 52-year-old carried out a “blatant and deliberate” breach of a contempt of court order banning the identification of the complainers by naming five of them on social media, said Lady Dorrian at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel