Fair trial plea for Briton in Baghdad

Published on Saturday 14 November 2009 19:07

SUPPORTERS of a Briton who is to be tried in Iraq for allegedly shooting dead two men have called for him to be brought back to the UK for a "fair trial".

Danny Fitzsimons, 33, from Rochdale, is due to appear before an Iraqi court today accused of killing Paul McGuigan, 37, who was originally from Peebles, and Australian Darren Hoare, 37, in Baghdad's Green Zone on 9 August. All three were working as private security guards for British security firm Armor Group.

Liz Fitzsimons, the accused's stepmother, said at a public meeting yesterday: "We don't believe he'll get a fair trial out there in Iraq, so we want him brought back here."

The case is expected to be heard today in Baghdad and, under Iraqi law, Fitzsimons could face the death penalty.

Yesterday's meeting in Bury was attended by local Labour MP Jim Dobbin and John Tipple, a caseworker and solicitor who has visited Fitzsimons.

Tipple said: "I know he's not going to get a fair trial and that makes me very nervous. If pressure comes from the British government then we hope that will keep Danny from the rope, but there are no guarantees."

He told the meeting Fitzsimons was "in a dark place" and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Tipple said he had spoken to him on the phone and through the Foreign Office, adding that the prisoner was "ill, very depressed and bordering on suicidal".

Dobbin said: "The possibility of a death sentence means that this government, which is against capital punishment, will intervene – there's no doubt about that.

"We just want to make sure that the whole process is fair and the British government keeps its eye on that process."