Muhammad Afzal, a former chairman of the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors, denies a complaint that he spread lies about an opponent to win election in May. His victory in Aston bucked the trend in which Labour lost its position as Birmingham’s largest party after 24 years. An election commissioner, sitting alone to judge the petition, is being asked to overthrow the result. Mr Afzal was previously cleared on appeal of postal vote-rigging in the city’s 2004 elections which, a judge said, "would disgrace a banana republic". In the latest trial a witness appeared to lose his voice after he saw two relatives arrive while he gave evidence. One of the cousins had come to his house to warn him against testifying against Mr Afzal, he told the hearing. The other, Tahir Ali, is a Labour councillor. The pair arrived during a break in Mukhtar Ahmed’s evidence.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
First Vote-Rigging, Now "Witness Nobbling"
The Director of Public Prosecutions is to examine allegations of witness-nobbling in a trial where Labour is accused of corruptly winning an election, according to an article in The Times. One witness has gone into hiding and another told a judge his family was in danger after being warned against giving evidence. A LibDem activist stayed away from the trial when his car was torched, the election court heard.
Muhammad Afzal, a former chairman of the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors, denies a complaint that he spread lies about an opponent to win election in May. His victory in Aston bucked the trend in which Labour lost its position as Birmingham’s largest party after 24 years. An election commissioner, sitting alone to judge the petition, is being asked to overthrow the result. Mr Afzal was previously cleared on appeal of postal vote-rigging in the city’s 2004 elections which, a judge said, "would disgrace a banana republic". In the latest trial a witness appeared to lose his voice after he saw two relatives arrive while he gave evidence. One of the cousins had come to his house to warn him against testifying against Mr Afzal, he told the hearing. The other, Tahir Ali, is a Labour councillor. The pair arrived during a break in Mukhtar Ahmed’s evidence.
Muhammad Afzal, a former chairman of the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors, denies a complaint that he spread lies about an opponent to win election in May. His victory in Aston bucked the trend in which Labour lost its position as Birmingham’s largest party after 24 years. An election commissioner, sitting alone to judge the petition, is being asked to overthrow the result. Mr Afzal was previously cleared on appeal of postal vote-rigging in the city’s 2004 elections which, a judge said, "would disgrace a banana republic". In the latest trial a witness appeared to lose his voice after he saw two relatives arrive while he gave evidence. One of the cousins had come to his house to warn him against testifying against Mr Afzal, he told the hearing. The other, Tahir Ali, is a Labour councillor. The pair arrived during a break in Mukhtar Ahmed’s evidence.
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A word about evidence. Most of what people think is material evidence of a criminal offence is in fact either hearsay evidence (asserted, but without any proof) or circumstantial evidence (suggests guilt but does not prove it). For an introduction to the subject of evidence, try: