I suspect I should say as little as possible in the next few days. With apologies to The National, I have copied their story out from behind their firewall.
BEGINS
A FORMER diplomat has instructed his lawyers to begin preparations for an appeal to the Supreme Court after learning he had lost a contempt of court case over his reports from the trial of Alex Salmond in March last year.
Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, attended two days of the trial – at which Salmond was found innocent – and sat in the public gallery, later writing about it for his blog.
However, in January he faced a virtual contempt of court hearing before Lady Dorrian, the Lord Justice Clerk, at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh.
It is now understood that a session for judgement to be delivered will be held at the High Court before Lady Dorrian, Lord Turnbull and Lord Menzies on Thursday – exactly eight weeks after the initial 90-minute hearing.
Sources close to Murray, 62, indicated that he was advised by court staff and his legal team that if he won the case, the judgement would simply be published.
However, if he lost, and particularly if a custodial sentence was probable, there would be a new hearing of the court – which has now been called.
Contempt of court carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and an unlimited fine.
Last month, Clive Thomson, a 52-year-old from Rosyth, was jailed for six months for contempt in the same case.
Murray is expected to stand as a candidate for Action for Independence (AFI) on the Lothians list in May’s Holyrood election.
READ MORE: Craig Murray bids to lead Action For Independence’s list in the Lothians
However, if sentenced to a year or more in jail, he will be disqualified from standing.
Murray was accused of contempt over publications likely to influence the jury and with jigsaw identification of complainants.
His defence argued that if the Crown believed these were likely to influence the jury, then action should have been taken before the trial and not after.
On jigsaw identification, his counsel, John Scott QC, argued that Murray had known the identity of all the complainants for months and had taken care not to give them away.
He argued: “[Murray] was aware of the names of the complainers, even when there was no court order regarding them. But he said it would not be responsible journalism to have named them.
“The Crown appears to say there must be a deliberate campaign to drop enough hints so that the complainers can be identified.
“There is a great deal of evidence showing he was not someone who was fixated on naming the complainers and dropping hints to identify.
“The fact alone is that he knew about the names and if he wanted to name them, he could have done so.”
In the two months between the hearing and judgement, he has said on social media that the delay was taking a toll on his family and on his mental health.
One member of the Murray family told The National: “Objective evidence shows that mainstream media published far more jigsaw identification pieces than Craig and were not prosecuted.”
Asked how Murray felt about the possibility of being jailed, they said: “Well, obviously not happy.
“Nadira and he have a one-month-old son and he’s not in good health nor getting any younger.
“But never underestimate his commitment and principle – he is a lot tougher than he looks.”
ENDS
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Craig did the crown not contact you about the offending article. You decided that contact was interference and rejected their advice.
The sad fact is that the Crown Office is part of the problem, and any “solution” they offer is just a further part of the problem.
No it is not.
Craig was informed about the offending article but refused to acknowledge.
It is also a bit pathetic that the judgement has not been delivered yet. However a source close to Murray leaks the advice given by his lawyers and court staff.
– “Craig was informed about the offending article but refused to acknowledge.”
Craig acknowledged publicly and said he’d remove the material if requested by the court.
Tony, it should be the court that gives warnings or asks for redactions, NOT the prosecutor. The prosecutor did NOTHING about pages and pages of corporate media material highly likely to influence the jury against Alex Salmond.
The Crown contacted Craig about the alleged offending article. Craig decided it was censorship.
See the actual contempt of court case.
Tony. The Crown is a tool of the SNP leadership and not independent or impartial.
how about answering Clark’s point Tony? Rather than to side with political meddling in an election.
I have answered .
The Crown informed Craig of the alleged offending article .Craig chose to ignore.
The issue was put to a court of law.
The judgement is due Thursday.
Tony, it is obvious to all that they singled out CM because he was calling attention to the Murrells’ plot. The Crown ignored infinitely more influential mass media headlines and broadcasts. Its actions were plainly in bad faith, puppeted by the chief plotter. Everyone can see that, including you.
If the prosecutor seriously believed that Craig’s work would prejudice the jury, their correct course of action was, I believe, to refer the matter to the court, who could contact Craig to ask that the material be removed before the trial.
Complaining to the court only after the trial (1) was negligent towards their own case and (2) seems like entrapment, punishment, and public intimidation of journalism.
Craig stated publicly, at the time, that he would remove the material if asked to do so by the court.
By definition, the prosecutor is not a neutral body; their job is to press for conviction. Tony, are you saying that they should use their authority to bias juries by controlling the media?
Tony you absurd ? is that the BEST you got??
??? if you meant to raise a laugh it worked!
“Didn’t the Slave Masters Voice tell you to OBEY her voice? As the Slave Owners House Slave her voice must be obeyed as if it came from God, Harrumph”
You lot have lost the Strategic War and the grubby tactics to burn Atlanta and conduct petty lynching as you are forced into defeat, is all you have left. Do you actually bother to understand the ignoring of your hastily re-written scripts.?
I have said before and will repeat it here for all the soldier boys and girls – FOLLOWING ORDERS is not a defence you will be able to rely on – no matter how many assurances you are given by your c.o’s . See you kids in court. Be prepared to go away a long time and lose your medals and pensions too.
I can envision that in Scotland, in a hundred years, the Union Jack will be fetishised over as the grunting throwbacks do the Confederate flag in the USA.
Exactly what are this SNP Government scared of? The idea that it’s all just a coincidence that independence supporters have been the target of the authorities when the same SNP Government apparently are the drivers of independence, it doesn’t make sense it is the Polar opposite of what most people would perceive as one movement looking after each other.
Not one media outlet has been put in the same position as Craig Murray. The whole episode stinks, stinks of interference, and that appears to be the modus operandi of this current administration. This first came to light during the Alex Salmond vendetta those at the top of this SNP gang wanting to assist the police with their inquiries by providing evidence if the police couldn’t find it going on fishing trips to gather more evidence, yes that is your free and open government for you. They are power mad and out of control.
A personal note to Craig maybe you don’t realise it but you do have many supporters out there don’t feel you are on your own.
Shameful decision but not surprising considering all we had seen.
If only the judge had been even 1/1000th as aware of the blatant plot involving some of the accusers to pervert the course of justice, commit perjury, and send and innocent man to jail, or about the failure of SNPG to fulfill their duty of candour during the trial (and judicial review before it). Instead the judge seemed far more eager to exclude as much of that damning evidence as possible. She consistently looked the other way to all that damning evidence and instead focused on that blogger in the gallery trying to report the simple truth.
And this was your judge, jury and now executioner all rolled into one… yeah seems totally legit. So… shocking as always but by this stage no longer surprising.
Happy to contribute to your appeal Craig.
All the people egging him on, the Crown this, the SNP that, the Government something else, have you stopped for one single solitary second to think that it is YOUR actions that are causing this madness, this good but gullible and naive man to possibly go to prison, with his young family at home without him, while you sit there, completely safe in your stupid distorted lockdown chairs and pontificate about how it just ain’t right?
Next to nobody knew of the government conspiracy against Salmond so I doubt Craig’s actions stemmed from being egged on by anybody. He acted only at the behest of his own conscience when he confronted the injustice and corruption you are clearly wedded to.
Ignoring the red herring about whether Craig or his supporters are to blame: you have no disagreement with the legal decision itself?
So nobody ever should stand up for what is right, in case it has bad consequences for friends or family. Okay, let all throw in the towel and descend into a banana republic. Idiot.
You’re not the one who might go to prison leaving a wife, a 10 year old and a month old baby. So it’s very easy for you to let someone else do your time.
With friends like you, Craig doesn’t need to look for enemies.
If he is found guilty, I hope the court shows him mercy and give him community service. Scotland is a country that correctly showed Megrahi mercy, after all.
That’s the third comment you have made that engages in shrill, distracting, moralistic noise, and slyly appears to sneak in the unquestioned assumption that the legal decision is correct, yet doesn’t have the honesty to come out and say so. Could this because you don’t actually believe that it was a fair decision, but just want to insinuate a weaselly kind of support for it?
will you be contributing to Craig’s fund to fight this unjust decision, yesindyref.2, or are you almost happy that he would be taken out as a potential candidate for Holyrood?
“Scotland is a country that correctly showed Megrahi mercy, after all.”
You must be the last person on earth to believe that Megrahi was guilty – there is nothing merciful about the sort of treatment meted out by Scots courts to designated enemies of the Establishment.
Well said Bevin:
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/03/lockerbie-2/
“Al-Megrahi Was not the Lockerbie Bomber” –
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2009/09/almegrahi_was_n/
Wow. Megrahi was completely innocent, so as soon as he was extradited and jailed the Crown had done him an injustice. Over the years that injustic grew and grew and grew until he was fatally ill.
But Edinbugh got its brownie points for obeying Washington, so that’s all right.
Craig is charged with contempt of court. Nothing to do with standing up to injustices.
To make the claim Craig will be. Political Prisoner does an injustice to the many actual political prisoners around the World.
No it does not Tony. This decision, after a very long and calculated delay, was taken against a potential candidate in the forthcoming election.
So are potential political candidates above the law.
– “So are potential political candidates above the law?”
No, but justice delayed is justice denied. The prosecutor chose not to submit to the court their complaint about Craig’s work in a timely manner, before the trial of Alex Salmond. Only before that trial could their complaint have served any purpose towards justice.
To pursue the matter after the trial serves only to make good on their threat, and to intimidate journalism in a selective, partisan way. By acting as they have, the prosecutor has proven Craig’s claim that their motive was selective censorship.
You have, of course, deliberately and wilfully chosen to understand what is going on here, all of which has been documented by Craig. The highly selective prosecution is, like the others, only aimed at people who have sought to question the debacle at the heart of the whole scandal, and who have sought to expose the facts to the light of the day, and the Scottish population who deserve truth and justice. The scale of cover up and collusion is shocking, which is why they are so ruthless in their persecution of those individuals seeking to shine some light on what has happened. Whatever political background you have, they deserve support for their endeavours. There is nothing to fear from the truth, and there would be no need to block evidence, threaten people and prosecute them for seeking it, if they didn’t fear the consequences from the truth. The excuse of ‘caring’ about the anonymous women in order to cover up malfeasance and perjury is a disgrace and should never happen in a transparent, accountable democracy.
*misunderstand* of course, first sentence.
Craig stood up against control over the news media by the prosecutor, the prosecutor being, by definition, a non-neutral body, quite rightly tasked with doing all in its power to secure conviction.
If prosecutors are given power over media discourse, independence of juries becomes impossible.
So, Tony, prosecutorial power over the media and their power to bias juries are the injustices that Craig is standing up against.
You simply highlight your lack of understanding of the facts.
Mr Murray is charged with contempt of court, but he did not commit such an offence.
To try him for it was already a serious injustice, and oppressive. To find him guilty would be unconscionable and tyrannical.
Obviously Scotland is not a nation ruled by law.
Take that saltire down. You are a fucking disgrace to it.
We have good times and bad times. These are bad times. Have made a small increase to my monthly sub.
We’ve never met, but your fine qualities of character, personality and mind are transparently obvious in every word you write.
If this is true, then Craig you join the august company of those who are either currently jailed or have been for their beliefs and principles based on truth, honesty, integrity and compassion. The truth will eventually come out and all that is rotten in the heart of Scottish legal and political systems will come crashing down. History will not be kind to your persecutors. They will be shown for the mean-minded, dishonest, intellectually-stunted, petty little people they are. My very best wishes for you and your family. I will send a donation.
Very sorry to hear this.
Just found out your news Craig. Feel absolutely down that you are going through this persecution ever since you decided to speak out when Ambassador. All our thoughts and hopes are with you and your family.
I know that the shooter of Utoya Island has been provided with a three-room apartment with a TV, game console and exercise equipment *despite the Nazi salute in the courtroom*
What are prisons like in Scotland?
If things turn out badly, will Mr. Murray be able to write blogs from there?
Breivik does not have internet access, however. I also doubt very much whether he will ever be released.
A Polish guy I knew had escaped to Sweden from the Nazis in WW2 and was briefly imprisoned there. He said prison in Sweden was better than life in Poland.
I am extremely outraged that people like Breivik are being held in such conditions, while their crimes are incomparable with the actions, such as, for example, Mr Assange’s. And Mr. Assange is in a prison for notorious villains, for writing a couple of truthful lines about how things really are!
I hope Mr. Murray escapes such a fate.
The Russian state treated Navalny like a crystal vase, trying to avoid being accused of political persecution, forgiving him for many violations, because of his reputation as “the main Putin’s oppositioner”.
But it seems that the British state is not afraid of such condemnation from the international community, is it?
I do not see any statements on Mr. Murray’s case from Amnesty International, the Union of Journalists – whoever you have there usually speaks loudly and even hysterically about Navalny.
Hello! Look, your state is attacking your own fellow national, right now!
Good point about the NUJ and Amnesty.
To be fair, Scandinavian justice does not wish to sink to the level of barbarians such as Breivik. He will never be released.
In contrast, Britain is a land of barbarians. Were a referendum ever to be held on capital punishment, it is highly likely to be reinstated. Many prisons date from the Victorian age and are cramped and outdated. Britain has more prisoners per population than most if not all countries in Europe and Conservative politicians vie to demand tougher and toughter sentences. The protection of property is more important than human rights here.
Assange is being made an example of, mostly likely with a do not resuscitate on his file, were he to become gravely ill. As the saying goes, the blood never dried on the British empire and that tradition is being maintained at home these days.
That’s a good question Tatiana. I think he probably would not be allowed a voice were he to be jailed I dont think prisoners have that privilege. ….Let’s hope and pray that it doesn’t come to that.
Craig, I’m telling you now that you should seek political asylum abroad. Please learn from the example of Assange. He should’ve sought asylum immediately after he learnt about the bullshit Swedish prosecution.
No running away for this braveheart.
Why are you suggesting such a dishonourable action?
I don’t want to disappoint you but I’m not suggesting a dishonorable action. FYI, “braveheart” implies armed resistance, not a sheepish acceptance of a prison sentence (at least to me).
Resistance means the willingness to take blows too. And Pacifist resistance is the greatest weapon to make the otherwise nodding sheep see past the propaganda of their leaders.
Cf Mahatma Gandhi who succeeded against the ‘greatest Empire in history blah.. blah’
Or Mandela and co risking death sentences.
Brave Hearts win hearts and minds and destroy the fetid remains of Empire from WITHIN.
Resistance means resisting. They want to make an example of him, this is their sole purpose. The intended chilling effect to other “nonconformists”. He shouldn’t let them do that. Exile is a good nonviolent alternative of actually fighting against the police. With the added benefit of not actually being in jail. Furthermore it would give supreme embarrassment to the British government. “Contempt of court” is a hardly meaningful charge outside English Law, and the idea that someone deserves jail for allegedly indirectly disclosing the identity of someone else is ridiculous at least, so even if he goes to – say – Ireland, it is very unlikely that they extradite him. As for Gandhi, I always see the Irish as a counterexample, they actually fought and gained independence in a few years. Gandhi likely prolonged the colonial period. And for Mandela, yeah, the ANC, the Angolans, the Namibians, the people of Mozambique fought with actual guns and they actually defeated the South Africans with military means. Mandela may have been a figurehead but that’s all. Craig in the Jail would not be a figurehead but a footnote 30 years later.
This is an absolute disgrace especially when several other so called reporters did jigsaw reveal the complainants names, I’d imagine as soon as you mentioned that you were standing for election via AFI that this miscarriage of justice verdict would be the most likely outcome.
I never thought I’d see the day that there would be the likelihood of a political prisoner held in Scotland, what a corrupt wee tinpot banana state Scotland has become under Sturgeon.
On the basis that Nelson Mandela spent a couple of decades in Robben Island and still became President of South Africa, it does to me seem likely that, even if Mr Murray WERE to be imprisoned, such is the political nature of this trial that any attempt to prevent him taking part in Scottish politics in future would face a wave of public outrage sufficient to make any sane politician reform the nonsensical laws, issue a post-sentence pardon or both…
Rhys Jagger
It seems to me that , as with Julian Assange, the British state is much more concerned about what Craig Murray is going to say in future about their misdeeds, than anything he has said in the past. The comparison with Nelson Mandela’s political imprisonment is exactly right. The clique in power in the SNP do seem to want to make a caricature of their own rotten corruption.
Mandela was jailed at a much younger age and spent ages in jail, no comparison. But the judgement is akin to East Germany, where the single word/lie of an informer could land you in jail.
The IRA won elections with their political prisoners in H Bloke.
I see the 77th are smacking their lips and slavering at the thought of finally being free of their daily muellering at the hands of this blog and Twitter feed.
I refer these coyotes to the Road Runner cartoons. Their slapstick fall will be mighty.
This case shocks me more than anything I have heard about the corruption and venality of the Westminster government. I guess if “They” were willing and able to pressure 9 women into perjuring themselves to pervert the course of justice and send an innocent man to prison once, we should not be surprised that they are willing to do it again. But who are “They”? I find myself for the first time really wondering if there really is a power behind the throne.
Your word “throne” is well chosen.
> This case shocks me more than anything I have heard about the corruption and venality of the Westminster government.
“Westminster” ? Or are you being sarcastic?
Hard to find a positive word to say, but at least you have joined a very illustrious list of political prisoners and thus reserved yourself a place in history. Even if you avoid going to prison, which is what we all hope.
The Silence is deafening. All the MSP’s, all the SNP members, all the Lawyers, all the Fourth Estate, will keep their jobs, expenses and family lives. All they have to do is keep silent. The Silent Majority!!!!
So sorry and disgusted to hear this, I never imagined I’d feel so utterly ashamed of an SNP govt I voted for, their double standards and vindictive use of the Crown Office is simply appalling.
This is an absolute disgrace. How can you have swayed the Jury when all you did was report the facts that the jury themselves had all witnessed.
Julian told the truth about war crimes and went to jail. The war criminals did not. Alex tried to tell the truth and was threatened with jail if he did. The false accusers who lied did not. Craig reports the truth about a case (albeit did not expose any identifications) and gets threatened with jail. The MSM who exposed the identities did not. “The truth shall set you free” my arse.
I’m really hopeful that they just want you in on Thursday to give you a stern talking to.
I shall be adding to your funds.
Russiagate was the Democrats’ excuse for losing the 2016 election. Craig’s postings will be the Sturgeon cult’s excuse for losing the jury vote in Salmond’s trial.
Lysias
Tbh, both the Throne, and the Democrats blaming of Russia and Trump are lightweights compared to the forces at work here.
Craig is in the crosshairs for his assistance to Julian Assange, his busting the myth of anti-Semitism, his opposition to the Brezinsky destruction of the middle east, his whistle-blowing on torture rendition and his opposition to Britain using Islamist proxies as it always has.
To be in the cross-hairs of Islamism and Zionism, Trilateralism and Torydom, all at the same time , is quite a feat. Nevertheless its always possible that Lady Dorrian will decide that he only needs to be taught a lesson, in order to shut him up. Obviously making heroes of your class opponents is a big mistake
.
.
Very sorry indeed to hear this. If you are convicted I shall immediately inform Amnesty International, of which I am a member, and request that they take up your case. I shall also inform the Scotgov. what I have done, and why. I am also a member of the SNP, and may find it necessary to consider my position, with maximum consultation and publicity.
It is a political finding. Garavelli clearly identified one of the women but she is not a high profile Independence supporter.
She’s a high-profile turd polisher and well known man-hating Murrellite lickspittle. Hence immune from prosecution by the corrupt courts.
Lest we forget it was “Lady” Dorrian who prevented any evidence of the conspiracy being presented to the court. Evidence which would have collapsed the case in 5 minutes flat.
The same Dorrian who provided the alphabetties with immunity from prosecution in return for their part in the conspiracy.
The same Dorrian who supports edited video testimony, secret courts, juryless trials and general witchfinding. She’s just another enemy of the people. Like her boss Wolfie and his boss Herr Murrell of French Girlfriend battering.
Very sorry to hear this Craig, you have my best wishes. But I am not surprised.
Stand back from the weeds and look at the big picture. Alex Salmond was for many years a thorn in the side of the UK establishment (e.g. wanting Tony Blair to be prosecuted for war crimes relating to the invasion of Iraq). It looked like he might return to Scottish politics with an independence platform which is a big threat to the UK. So they tried to discredit him using the oldest trick in the book, that of destroying his reputation with allegations of sexual abuse – the very same approach used against Julian Assange. Craig came to his defence and has a strong following and credibility as a former ambassador and someone who took a stance against torture. That made him a target. This is the result.
Corruption is endemic within the establishment, and the mainstream media. We are not the good guys. The USA has been at war for 90% of its existence, and for the last 70 years we have held their hands and supported their corrupt endeavours. Colonialism never stopped, it just changed its methods and improved its propaganda.
My feelings exactly. 🙂
(The first thing I saw when I got up this morning was a report of this decision in The Lifeboat News. I’m not too ashamed to say that I wept a little, and my own world became a little darker. It’s hard to believe the depths to which the authorities are sinking. Words fail me.)
Er, sorry about that! Now, what were you saying? 🙂
This is atrocious and appalling
First Ministers can provide evidence without candour (i.e. LIE) but reporters cannot report on those same lies and corruption in a massively restricted open court for fear of being jailed for being there by a kangaroo court which cares nothing for the evidence or even the letter of the law.
Is this the UK in 2021 or is it Uganda or Chile or South Africa in the 70s?
Craig, I am so sorry to read this, I cannot believe this of Scotland.
So sorry to hear this, I am shocked to the bone, what a bunch of conniving bastards. The Scottish judiciary have seconded the words spoken by David Davis in Parliament and the SNP and their hangers on should hang their head in shame. This decision is a political decision taken by judges during election time, they should keep their mucky paws out of politics, however much they would like to mix it. I will send you some money should it be required. I hope that they will not jail you, its not conducive to anyone’s health. I hope your friends nationwide, In Uzbekistan and in Ghana will also put their hands in their pocket to support you in this fight for justice.
This is the courts meddling in electoral politics and in Independence, as long as people know. Tried to leave a comment on the National, but was unable to for some reason or other. Take good care and our best wishes to Nadira, we will help and support you.
Craig
I am in awe of your immense courage in resisting injustice.
As are many many others north and south of the border who are gearing up to defend you.
Ultimately, your cause is sound and will be vindicated. Theirs is rotten to the core and cannot prevail.
You have done and are doing a great job, Craig.
With you all the way
Robert
Just doubled my monthly sub to the blog. Wish I could afford more. I hereby pledge £100 to any appeal fund.
Yes me too.( the defence fund) .
I also pledge a ton, if required.
Keep your spirits up!
I take it that an appeal to the Supreme Court would be in terms of the European Convention on Human Rights, given that otherwise the final court of criminal appeal in the Scottish jurisdiction is not the Supreme Court but the High Court of Justiciary sitting as the (Scottish) Court of Criminal Appeal?
There’s definitely a lot of political potential there. The Partei leadership and its tame judges may well argue that the SC has no jurisdiction.
Which suggests that pressure needs to be ratcheted up on the Partei leadership, including Nicola Sturgeon.
Sturgeon may fall from office later this week.
If she does, she won’t be in much of a position to say something extremely nasty that is similar to “Look at this former British ambassador – he’s running to London for help” – because her flush will have been busted. Similarly nobody has given a toss what Neil Hamilton says about anything since the moment he lost his case against Mohammed al-Fayed.
The irony is that if Sturgeon stays in office, the SC accepts that they have the asserted jurisdiction, and then the SC rules in favour of the appellant, then Sturgeon may use this as a “Unilateral Declaration of Independence” moment.
And that could be the reason for the timing.
Just that it won’t be the kind of UDI that Craig has previously envisaged. Cue a physical confrontation between police acting under SC orders and police acting under HCJ orders? Spun properly, that could help the Partei. Anything to do with “English people telling Scots what to do” helps the Partei. (Apart from anything else, more juveniles are appearing on the electoral roll every week.)
Truly shocking news.
I was sure you would be acquitted!
The dribble of systemic corruption is rapidly turning into a fetid deluge, which threatens to drown us all, Nationalist and Unionist alike.
May we find the collective strength to hold it back.
A donation will be in your account by the end of the week.
I should say I am shocked and surprised by the action against you , but sadly it is behaviour I am rapidly becoming used to by the SNP and friends.
It leaves me with real problems come the 6th of May.
Money on the way, Craig.
Stay strong for yourself, your family and all who look to you to help stiffen our resolve in opposing the forces of darkness.
Sturgeon has a reputation for micro-management and attention to detail.
Yet she would have us believe that she knew nothing about the attacks on Salmond and youself – that they were apparently not only done by fairies in the night but by ones who not only had never met her but each other.
Best wishes Craig. I would remain optimistic and if the verdict is guilty you will be released on bail pending your appeal. I also hope, given all your personal circumstances and the state wanting to avoid making you a martyr, any custodial sentence will be suspended. My thoughts are with you and your family.
Gawd, I hope you don’t get jail-time. You’ve bent over backward to NOT identify these letter-women. Nobody who’s reported on the Salmond case (not that many, admittedly) has been as scrupulous as you have.
There are remarks about miscarriages in the comments. It would certainly be a miscarriage if you were jailed. And I suspect it would misfire; people will be angry, and I suspect that people who DO know who the letter-women are would cast their caution to the wind, if you were sentenced to prison.
If I knew who they were, then the moment you were sentenced, their names would be all over the internet.