After winning the first trial: what is known about the arrest of the leader of RT and the former head of the government of Scotland, Alex Salmond

Lead RT and former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond arrested in the UK. This happened when he went to the police himself to testify in a case of harassment.

“We can confirm that the 64-year-old man was arrested and charged. The report will be sent to the tax prosecutor's office, ”said a law enforcement representative.

At the moment, Salmond is in the hotel, continuing to remain formally arrested. January 24, he must be brought to court, police said.

Recall, the government of Scotland, headed by Nikola Sturgeon, several years ago initiated an investigation after the allegations of two women about harassment by Salmond in 2013. Then he served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party.

The government submitted its report to the police in August 2018. Salmond denied the charges, stating that he was innocent. At the time of the investigation, he suspended his membership in the party.

Lead RT noted that the charges against him are politically motivated. In addition, he pointed out that the investigators did not allow him to familiarize himself with the court materials. In this case, the government was going to publish a statement that would threaten the confidentiality.

“These investigations depend on confidentiality ... This is not about the person against whom the complaint is filed, but about the confidentiality of the applicants (women who have filed accusations. - RT ).” And the Scottish government violated this confidentiality, so we told them not to make this statement, ”said Salmond in August 2018.

To cover legal costs, the former head of Scotland began a crowdfunding company with the aim of collecting about £ 50,000 pounds. In a few hours he managed to collect more than the required amount, and the account was closed at around £ 100 thousand.

Salmond thanked everyone who contributed, and stressed that all unspent funds would be spent on "good deeds."

“All funds received will be directed exclusively to the court case, and any remaining money will be used to support good deeds in Scotland and beyond,” he said.

So, he appealed to the Court of Session - the court of first instance in Scotland, which was to consider the violation of legal rules by the prosecution.

In January of this year, Salmond won in court, which ruled that the Scottish government had violated procedural rules. This was acknowledged by the Scottish government, stating that a biased man who had previously had contact with women who had filed charges was appointed to conduct an investigation against the lead RT.

Salmond welcomed the decision of the court and thanked his team.

“I am deeply grateful for the work of my legal team, who were outstanding in achieving a decisive victory, grateful to my family and my friends who stood with me throughout this year, and I am also grateful to more than four thousand people who donated funds to crowdfunding for this judicial review, without whose support I would not be able to defend my position, ”he said.

STATEMENT - Alex Salmond admits defeat pic.twitter.com/QHaFJm6BzJ

"Barely hidden witch hunt"

Alex Salmond came to RT in November 2017 and began to conduct his own talk show, in which eminent guests come and express their position on issues that often concern Scotland and its interests.

However, some politicians in Scotland and the UK are unhappy with the transfer of Salmond. Thus, the head of the Conservative Party in Scotland, Ruth Davidson in March 2018, called for a ban on RT broadcasting in the UK. This position Davidson and her supporters criticized journalist Leslie Riddoh in his article for The Sunday Times.

"In the meantime, the persistent efforts with which the media are trying to force Alex Salmond to stop conducting talk shows on the RT channel are more clearly reminiscent of the barely hidden witch-hunt being waged against supporters of independence," the journalist said.

Note that the activities of Salmond is also sympathetic to Scottish television viewers. A letter from the reader, Brian Kelly, arrived in The Scottish newspaper The National, in which he notes that the Russian TV channel covers issues related to the brexite deal between London and Brussels on November 25, 2018 with higher quality.

"The BBC spent less than ten seconds on this important topic, while the Russians talked about the event for about 40 minutes ... Why do we have to include RT, the free Russian media, to hear the opinion of the first minister of Scotland and her brexit minister about the agreement, which the prime minister Are countries trying to make it public? ”he wrote.