Special prosecutor clears lawyer of man convicted in Air India bombing

Vancouver, BC: A spin-off investigation from the Air India bombing trial has determined no charges will be laid against the lawyer for the only man convicted in the terrorist plot.
After a seven-year investigation, special prosecutor Paul Fraser has decided the evidence didn't support a charge of fraud against Inderjit Singh Reyat's lawyer David Martin.
And while Fraser concluded there would be a likelihood of conviction for Reyat's son Didar, he said prosecution was not required in the public interest.
The Law Society of B.C. issued a citation against Martin, alleging that he defrauded the government by making a deal to pay $10,000 a month to Reyat's two children for translation services and that he submitted fake accounts for work that hadn't been done.
After the allegations were made in 2002, Reyat's entire legal team, except Martin, resigned and were replaced.
Reyat pleaded guilty a year later to manslaughter for his part in the bombing that killed all 329 people on the Air India jet that crashed into the ocean off Ireland in June 1985.
Fraser said any evidence against Martin presented at a criminal trial "would likely be ambivalent and would lack the cogency and clarity to support a finding of the necessary criminal intent."
A Law Society panel ruled in 2004 that Martin didn't conduct himself professionally around the matter, but didn't do it intentionally.
"It was common ground that the applicants misconduct involved neither dishonesty nor deceit," said a decision from the society.
The society ordered that Martin be reprimanded, pay a $20,000 fine and pay $35,000 in costs of the discipline proceedings.
"I am gratified that the announcement made today finally puts this entire matter to a complete end," Martin said in a statement to the media.
22/05/09 The Canadian Press/CJBK, Canada

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Categories: Air India - International May 2009, Foreign May 2009, NACIL May 2009, Safety May 2009