FORMER British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray handed himself in to police today to begin an eight-month prison sentence.
Supporters came along to see him off at St Leonard's police station in Edinburgh, singing Auld Lang Syne as Murray hugged his family members.
Footage filmed by Ragged Trousered Philanderer shows the moments before he headed into the police station.
A tearful farewell to Craig Murray with his supporters singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ as he hands himself in to the police at St Leonards Police Station, Edinburgh to begin his 8 month sentence for reporting on the Alex Salmond case. Journalism under threat in Scotland and the UK. pic.twitter.com/X38Rf8opwA
— Ragged Trousered Philanderer (@RaggedTP) August 1, 2021
Murray, a blogger and independence campaigner, was judged to have been in contempt of court over blogs he wrote during the trial of former first minister Alex Salmond.
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 March 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 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.”
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