Friday 29
May 2009
On Friday 22 May 2009, a jury
at the Old Bailey cleared Erkin Guney of soliciting the murder of
Diane
Holliday. Erkin, his family and supporters are overjoyed by this
verdict, and that justice has been done.
The jury accepted Erkin’s
account of events: that he had been set up by Surrey Police during an
undercover operation which included staging a mock car crash. Erkin
maintained throughout the trial that he was simply “playing along” to
find out who was behind the operation, because he had been set-up by
corrupt police officers in 1995. On that occasion he spent 7 years in
prison for a crime he didn’t commit. His conviction was eventually
overturned in 2003 as a miscarriage of justice.
The jury’s verdict in this
recent case raises many questions about the conduct of Surrey Police
officers involved in this attempt to entrap an innocent man and the lack
of investigation into his complaints of fraud against Diane Holliday.
The police claimed this was down to “insufficient funding”, which is
ironic given how many thousands of pounds Surrey Police spent on this
operation.
Erkin is
enjoying time with his family and friends. He would like to thank all
those who supported his innocence throughout this difficult period.
Erkin is not intending to issue any further comment at present.
Any media
interest should be directed through his solicitor, Sean Curran, Guney
Clark & Ryan Solicitors, 60 Green Lanes, London N16 9NH, 0207 275 7788.
In 1996 Erkin Guney was sentenced to 14
years in jail for the alleged possession of a firearm and heroin.