This week, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan and ardent WikiLeaks supporter, Craig Murray, was released from Saughton Prison in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The following was his official statement upon release following an 8 month sentence for contempt of court. Watch:
The National reports…
Supporters cheered as Craig Murray was released from HMP Edinburgh on Tuesday, after being sentenced to eight months in prison for contempt of court.
The former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, who later became a pro-independence blogger, was found in contempt over blogs he wrote during the trial of former first minister Alex Salmond. He has served a little under four months in prison.
BREAKING: Former British ambassador Craig Murray finally released from prison #WelcomeHomeCraig pic.twitter.com/tze5CZz0Sm
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 30, 2021
Judges determined that the 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 2020.
At a virtual sentencing earlier this year, 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 Murray deliberately risked “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.”
But supporters of Murray consider his sentence to be political. Outside the prison in Edinburgh, before he was released, his fans held signs reading “#ScotlandJailsJournalists” and “We <3 Craig”.
One supporter, named Irene Campbell, told The National: “Well he’s a political prisoner. It’s a travesty of justice and I think everyone’s just happy that he’ll be free to see his family again.”
As a heavily bearded Murray left the prison he was reunited with wife Nadira Alieva and their son, who both spoke criticising his imprisonment at the inaugural Alba Party conference shortly into his sentence.
Continue this report at The National
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