From: RustyBullethole, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Gun dealer paid L1.4m for false conviction Richard Norton-Taylor Tuesday October 31, 2000 The Guardian An arms dealer whose conviction for selling machine guns to Iraq was quashed after evidence emerged that senior Foreign Office and customs officials had interfered in his trial has been awarded more than L1m in compensation. Alexander Schlesinger, sales consultant to Atlantic Commercial, based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, has been awarded L1.375m plus costs under the Home Office compensation scheme for miscarriages of justice. The sum was agreed by Jack Straw, the home secretary, on the advice of an independent assessor who took into account the seniority of diplomats and customs officers whose conduct was described by Sir Richard Scott, chairman of the arms-to-Iraq inquiry, as disgraceful. The claim is the latest in a series made by individuals and companies whose wrongful convictions for selling weapons to Iraq have already cost taxpayers more than L4m. The final total is likely to be far higher. Mr Schlesinger was fined L3,000 in 1985 for his part in the sale of 200 Sterling submachine guns to Iraq via Jordan. With Reginald Dunk, director of Atlantic Commercial, he pleaded guilty after diplomats at the Jordanian and Iraqi embassies in London reneged on their promises to appear as witnesses for the defence. The diplomats had said the guns were a gift from Iraq to Jordan. Documents released to the Scott inquiry revealed that, at the behest of customs, senior British diplomats agreed to have "friendly words" with the Iraqi and Jordanian ambassadors. One document said: "I confess to innocent reluctance to connive at impeding the course of justice!" In 1994 Lord Taylor, then lord chief justice, said what he called the "machinations" in the case "to prevent witnesses for the defence being available, coupled with the non-disclosure of what had been done, constituted such an interference with the justice process as to amount to an abuse of it". Last year Mr Dunk, who has since died, was awarded L2.15m in compensation for miscarriage of justice, loss of business - his company collapsed - and personal distress. Mr Schlesinger and Mr Dunk also received L125,000 in an unprecedented settlement arising from the conduct of two senior diplomats, Cartsen Pigott and Patrick Nixon, in the arms case. The dealers accused them of "abuse of public office". It was the first compensation where damages were recovered from a government department criticised in the Scott report. The FO maintained the payment was "without any admission of liability". Mr Schlesinger, 58, said last night: "I am relieved that after 17 years of fighting to clear my name and to obtain compensation, this is finally all over." If it had not been for Sir Richard Scott and the late Lord Taylor, "the wrongful conviction would not have been quashed", he said. "My business and personal life has been destroyed and I have been denied the opportunity of a fair trial and the chance to clear my name." His lawyer, Lawrence Kormornick, said: " This was a serious case about human rights, the rule of law and government accountability." He regretted that neither customs nor the FO had apologised. Mr Kormornick is now seeking compensation for Paul Henderson and Peter Allen, former directors of Matrix Churchill machine tools company, whose arms-to-Iraq trial collapsed after evidence emerged that the then Conservative government had turned a blind eye to the sale of arms-related equipment to Saddam Hussein in the 1980s. Mr Kormornick is also claiming compensation for Ali Daghir, director of Euromac, who was convicted in 1991 for supplying "nuclear capacitors" - equipment used to store and release energy - to Iraq. His conviction was quashed after the appeal court ruled that the trial judge had misdirected the jury. Paul Grecian, director of Ordtec, a military engineering company, is seeking compensation after his conviction for trying to sell equipment to Iraq was quashed. The appeal court found that crucial documents were not passed to the defence. The total bill for miscarriages of justice arising out of arms-to-Iraq scandals could amount to L30m, including legal and court costs, Mr Kormornick said yesterday. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
