Ali Dizaei vows to rejoin Scotland Yard after corruption charges are quashed
Court of appeal rules new evidence ‘significantly discredits’ principal witness in former police chief’s trial last year Ali Dizaei, the former police chief whose convictions for corruption were quashed on Monday, walked out of prison and vowed to rejoin Scotland Yard. Dizaei was dismissed from the police service in disgrace, ending a 25-year career, after the convictions last year. But the court of appeal ruled that new evidence “significantly discredits” the principal witness against him. Dizaei, who rose to the rank of commander with Scotland Yard, served over a year in prison, during which time he says he suffered abuse and attacks. Hours after the judgment, Dizaei was released from Leyhill open prison. But the court of appeal said while it would quash his convictions, “the interests of justice” meant he should face a retrial. The judges said the officer once tipped to be a possible chief constable, should face a fresh hearing over the criminal charges, finding there was “a good deal of evidence” to support a prosecution, independent of the discredited main witness. Dizaei was granted bail. Dizaei told a news conference: “When I clear my name it is my intention to go back to the Metropolitan police and serve my time.” He described his time in prison as hell and like “putting a hand in a wasps’ nest” as he lived alongside the kind of criminals he had spent over two decades trying to jail. Dizaei, 48, said the appeal court’s ruling showed his integrity was “completely intact” and that he was determined to clear his name. In January 2010, a jury at Southwark crown court unanimously convicted Dizaei of abusing his power as a senior police officer and found he had tried to frame a young web designer in a row over £600. He was jailed for four years. Some at Scotland Yard, of whom Dizaei was a vocal critic of their record on race, were said to have greeted his conviction by popping champagne corks. The career and reputation of Dizaei, a former president of the National Black Police Association, looked dead and buried after the conviction triggered his sacking
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on May 16, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News.
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Ali Dizaei vows to rejoin Scotland Yard after corruption charges are quashed
Court of appeal rules new evidence ‘significantly discredits’ principal witness in former police chief’s trial last year Ali Dizaei, the former police chief whose convictions for corruption were quashed on Monday, walked out of prison and vowed to rejoin Scotland Yard. Dizaei was dismissed from the police service in disgrace, ending a 25-year career, after the convictions last year. But the court of appeal ruled that new evidence “significantly discredits” the principal witness against him. Dizaei, who rose to the rank of commander with Scotland Yard, served over a year in prison, during which time he says he suffered abuse and attacks. Hours after the judgment, Dizaei was released from Leyhill open prison. But the court of appeal said while it would quash his convictions, “the interests of justice” meant he should face a retrial. The judges said the officer once tipped to be a possible chief constable, should face a fresh hearing over the criminal charges, finding there was “a good deal of evidence” to support a prosecution, independent of the discredited main witness. Dizaei was granted bail. Dizaei told a news conference: “When I clear my name it is my intention to go back to the Metropolitan police and serve my time.” He described his time in prison as hell and like “putting a hand in a wasps’ nest” as he lived alongside the kind of criminals he had spent over two decades trying to jail. Dizaei, 48, said the appeal court’s ruling showed his integrity was “completely intact” and that he was determined to clear his name. In January 2010, a jury at Southwark crown court unanimously convicted Dizaei of abusing his power as a senior police officer and found he had tried to frame a young web designer in a row over £600. He was jailed for four years. Some at Scotland Yard, of whom Dizaei was a vocal critic of their record on race, were said to have greeted his conviction by popping champagne corks. The career and reputation of Dizaei, a former president of the National Black Police Association, looked dead and buried after the conviction triggered his sacking
Posted by
on May 16, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News.
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