Metropolitan Police commander Ali Dizaei jailed

ONE of Scotland Yard's most senior officers was sentened to four years in prison today for assaulting a man in a row about money.

Commander Ali Dizaei was convicted of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice after a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.

A jury found that the 47-year-old had assaulted Iraqi web designer Waad al-Baghdadi before attempting to frame him by lying about injuries he received while attempting to make an arrest.

Dizaei, who has been suspended on full pay since September 2008, is a former president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA) and had previously emerged unscathed from a series of inquiries, including a multimillion-pound undercover operation examining claims of corruption, fraud and dishonesty.

The court heard that Dizaei and Mr al-Baghdadi had argued over outstanding payment for a website the latter had built when they met by chance at a restaurant in Hammersmith, London.

Mr al-Baghdadi, 24, approached Dizaei and asked for 600 he was owed for building a website showcasing his career, press interviews and speeches.

This angered Dizaei, who had just eaten a meal with his wife after attending a ceremony at New Scotland Yard for new recruits.

The officer confronted the younger man in a nearby sidestreet where a scuffle took place and Mr al-Baghdadi was roughly arrested and handcuffed.

Prosecutor Peter Wright QC said Dizaei told Mr al-Baghdadi he would "f*** up your life" and had "10 witnesses" who would back him up.

In one of two 999 calls Dizaei asked an operator for "urgent assistance" before starting to arrest Mr al-Baghdadi.

When officers arrived, Dizaei handed them the metal mouthpiece of a shisha pipe, held on Mr al-Baghdadi's key ring, and claimed he had been stabbed with it.

But a doctor at Hammersmith police station concluded that two red marks on the officer's torso were probably self-inflicted and did not match the pipe.

Dizaei told colleagues he had been attacked, leaving Mr al-Baghdadi in custody for 24 hours and ultimately facing prosecution.

When Mr al-Baghdadi was told he would not face any charge, he complained about his treatment and Dizaei's web of deceit slowly unravelled.

Dizaei will remain a senior police officer until the bureaucratic formal process of throwing him out of the force can be completed.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which investigated the original complaint, must pass its files to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) for a decision.

Dizaei will then be sacked for gross misconduct and could face losing all or part of his pension under further measures aimed at punishing corrupt officers.

Nick Hardwick, who leads the IPCC, branded Dizaei a "criminal in uniform" who threatened the reputation of the entire service.