A FORMER diplomat has been sentenced to eight months in prison for a contempt of court in relation to the Alex Salmond trial. Craig Murray, 62, a former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, attended two days of Mr Salmond’s trial in March 2020 in the public gallery and wrote about it on his website. Judges later ruled he was in contempt of court relating to material capable of identifying four complainers. In a virtual sentencing, Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian said Murray knew there were court orders giving the women anonymity in Mr Salmond s trial yet he was “relishing” the potential disclosure of their identities.
Submitting.
Sentencing Murray, Lady Dorrian said Murray knew there were court orders giving the women anonymity and he was “relishing” the potential disclosure of their identities.
At the virtual sentencing, Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian explained that Murray deliberately risked jigsaw identification and that revealing complainers’ identities was “abhorrent”.
She said it was “particularly so, given the enormous publicity which the case in question attracted and continues to attract”.
Murray’s offending blog posts and tweets were written over a period of a month and remained up, unredacted, despite the blogger being told they could potentially lead to the identification of women who had made complaints about Mr Salmond, who was eventually acquitted of all 13 charges.
By Press Association 2021
High Court in Edinburgh
Judges have been urged not to jail a former diplomat who was found to be in contempt of court after covering the Alex Salmond trial on his blog.
Craig Murray, a former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, attended two days of Mr Salmond’s trial in March 2020, sitting in the public gallery, and wrote about it on his website.
The former first minister was cleared at the High Court in Edinburgh of 13 sexual assault charges involving nine women following his trial.
Following previous hearings, judges on March 25 this year found that Murray, 62, was in contempt of court, relating to material capable of identifying four complainers.
Judges have been urged not to jail a former diplomat who was found to be in contempt of court after covering the Alex Salmond trial on his blog. Craig Murray, a former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, attended two days of Mr Salmond’s trial in March 2020, sitting in the public gallery, and wrote about it on his website. The former first minister was cleared at the High Court in Edinburgh of 13 sexual assault charges involving nine women following his trial. Following previous hearings, judges on March 25 this year found that Murray was in contempt of court, relating to material capable of identifying four complainers.
Ex-diplomat found guilty of contempt over Alex Salmond trial blog could face jail
Judges have been urged not to send Craig Murray, a former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, to prison.
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