Man arrested over 1984 murder outside Libyan embassy in London is released

[webfact]

Man arrested over 1984 murder outside Libyan embassy in London is released

By Estelle Shirbon

REUTERS

 

LONDON (Reuters) - A man arrested in 2015 in connection with the 1984 murder of a British policewoman outside the Libyan embassy in London has been released without charge because crucial evidence was not available for national security reasons, police said on Tuesday.

 

Yvonne Fletcher, who was 25, was hit in the back by a shot fired from the embassy while she was policing a demonstration by Libyan dissidents against Muammar Gaddafi, who then ruled the North African country.

 

London's Metropolitan Police force said officers believed they had identified those responsible for Fletcher's murder, but key material that would be needed for a case to be brought to court was not available for reasons of national security.

 

"I regret that we have not been able to deliver the justice that the victims and their families deserve," said Mark Rowley, the Met's assistant commissioner, referring to Fletcher and others who were injured in the incident.

 

The shooting of Fletcher triggered an 11-day siege of the embassy by the Met, the deportation of 30 Libyans in the embassy and the severing of diplomatic ties between London and Tripoli.

 

The shot that killed her was one of several fired from the embassy and 10 Libyan anti-Gaddafi campaigners suffered gunshot wounds. Police believe two weapons, a pistol and an automatic weapon were used in the incident.

 

The Met said the incident had been "an act of state-sponsored terrorism", part of a bombing and shooting campaign waged by the Gaddafi regime during the 1980s and 1990s, targeting Libyan dissidents in Britain and across Europe.

 

The man arrested in November 2015 in southeast England has not been named by police.

 

Fletcher's family said they were satisfied the Met had left no stone unturned in its pursuit of justice for her.

 

"We are deeply disappointed and frustrated that a prosecution cannot proceed at this time. We had hoped that the latest turn of events would finally lead to some closure for the family," they said in a statement.

 

The arrest of the murder suspect came as a result of new information obtained since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, with London officers having made multiple visits to Libya since then.

 

The Met said the investigation would remain open, but that cases like this became harder to solve over time.

 

"Our judgment is that this concludes what was by far the best opportunity to solve this tragic case and provide a degree of closure for the victims and their families," it said.

 

(Editing by Catherine Evans)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-17

[anon4546543]

Man released  because "crucial evidence had not been released for security reasons" .

A new low point in current British so called justice. Shame

[humqdpf]

59 minutes ago, spiderorchid said:

Man released  because "crucial evidence had not been released for security reasons" .

A new low point in current British so called justice. Shame

Security = they are covering for someone

It cannot be national security because Ghadaffi is gone, so is his government. Perhaps this man will show that they put the wrong guy in jail for the downing of Pan Am 103 all those years ago. The man, Al Magrahi was eventually released on compasionate grounds but many people believe that the trial would have found anyone guilty who did not happen to have a watertight alibi for the whole time involved.

[Pdaz]

This makes me sick to my stomach.

The guilty parties should have been convicted and hung long ago.

 

RIP WPC Fletcher.

[Basil B]

11 hours ago, spiderorchid said:

Man released  because "crucial evidence had not been released for security reasons" .

A new low point in current British so called justice. Shame

There may be many reasons for not divulging certain evidence most importantly protecting the source, if certain evidence was presented that it could be deduced who the source was it could put their life in danger, also if other countries had provided the inteligence they would would have to be consulted and authorise its use. 

[Trouble]

So crucial evidence needed for possible conviction of a man who shot a British police officer in a 1984 case, now over 30 years in the past, is still so secret it can't be used. The then government of Libya no longer exists, but the security concerns are an overriding factor in not bringing the Individual to justice.  Seems to me that all we hear about today is classified information that can't be released, mostly because it might be an embarrassment in some way. Nice to know if you are murdered your government might decide not to bring someone to justice because it considers security concerns more important when the event is over 30 years old.  What a load of sh*t.

[johna]

This story is all over the British press, one UK newspaper reports that Saleh received a letter from Tony Blair's government in 2002 saying he would not be prosecuted.

Blair became a financial advisor to Gaddafi in 2010

 

 

Dr Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk was deported from Britain after Fletcher’s murder outside the Libyan embassy in 1984, but the deportation order was lifted in 2000. He returned to the UK to seek political asylum in 2011

[i claudius]

Whenever there is a cover up or some dirty dealings ,you can always find that Blair was involved one way or another .