Monday 19 October 2015

The date of the Malta clothes purchase

[What follows is part of a statement taken by Detective Chief Inspector Harry Bell from Paul Gauci (Tony’s brother) on this date in 1989:]

“On Thursday 19 October 1989 Mr Bell called at my shop at 63 Tower Road where I was shown a list of European football matches I know as UEFA. I checked all the games and dates. I am of the opinion that the game I watched on TV was on 23 November, 1988: SC Dynamo Dresden v AS Roma. On checking the 7th December 1988, I can say that I watched AS Roma v Dynamo Dresden in the afternoon. All the other games were played in the evening. I can say for certain I watched the Dresden v Roma game. On the basis that there were two games played during the afternoon of 23 November and only one on the afternoon of 7th December, I would say that the 23rd November 1988 was the date in question.” 

[RB: It was crucial to the conviction of Abdelbaset Megrahi that the purchases from Mary’s House in Sliema should have taken place on 7 December 1989. On the basis of Tony Gauci’s evidence (and notwithstanding convincing meteorological evidence that supported 23 November) the court accepted 7 December as being the date. Paul Gauci was not called as a witness. In its report in June 2007, one of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission’s six reasons for holding that Megrahi’s conviction might have amounted to a miscarriage of justice was that, on the evidence, no reasonable court could have found that 7 December was the date of purchase.]

7 comments:

  1. Not 3rd December, 7th December as in Paul's statement.

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    1. Many thanks, Rolfe. My wits must have been woolgathering.

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    2. You might want to fix all the instances. It's still a bit confusing.

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    3. Hope that's all of them now.

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    4. Looks like you got them all.

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  2. Paul would have remembered the holiday on the 8th December so his statement "I would say that the 23rd November 1988 was the date in question" is almost certainly correct.

    Professor Black/Rolfe - have JFM ever considered "Justice For Megrahi" or "Friends of Justice for Megrahi" lapel pins/badges?

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    1. Jim Swire has some "Lockerbie Truth" stickers - they might be produced by his own group of relatives.

      There are occasions when I'd wear something like that, certainly.

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