Thread by @jammach

Thoughts on Alex Salmond trial:

It should be taken as said, that rape and sexual abuse are horrible, evil, crimes. (I know from personal experience.)

Reporting of rape is too low. Prosecution of rape is probably too low.
As a society we need to support Women better. 1/16

That said, it’s a well established tactic to smear your opponents and accusing them of socially unacceptable crimes is the most effective.
If Mr Salmond was accused of a history of recreational shoplifting it wouldn’t have had quite the same perilous impact. 2/16

I know very little about Mr Salmond and his history, but in court he admitted extra marital affairs, so there was the beginning of a smear. It was probably known to close political associates.
That is a matter for Alex and Moira. They may have had an open marriage. 3/16

So, a seed and a clear motive; to remove Mr Salmond from political life and involvement with the SNP. Not by being a better politician or leader. Not by making him unnecessary, but by removing his liberty. To imprison him and probably, have him die behind bars. My God.
4/16

There were long considered steps to this. It wasn’t ‘accidental’.
The first was a retrospectively applied, new law enabling ex FM to be investigated.
Next was a harvesting of interviews and potential complaints from, allegedly, more than 400 women, going back decades
5/16

From court testimony, we know this process was allegedly orchestrated between as yet unnamed members of the civil service, senior members within the SNP close to Nicola Surgeon and potentially currently elected politicians. I sincerely hope this gets clarified
6/16

So we have how, and who but not why. What danger did Mr Salmond represent ... and to whom?

Well a former MP, former @theSNP party leader, former First Minister;
might threaten current MP for Gordon, current SNP leader or current FM, or parties close to, in frame.
7/16

Remember, this wasn’t a @policescotland originated investigation. We didn’t have several Women independently approach the police to complain, then have an investigation started from public concern. This was the civil service witch hunt, then handed to the fiscals. 8/16

So, we have a group allegedly compromised of people within the civil service and SNP and possibly the Scottish Govt spending over a million quid to try and bring down one of the most ardent, potent advocates of Scottish independence seen in our lifetimes. That seem, odd?
9/16

Since the independence referendum in 2014, the drive for Scottish Independence seems to have faltered. The polls have barely nudged upwards and the initiative has been taken by grassroots demos, private funded court cases not by The SNP, who focused on Brexit.
10/16

So if you were serious about Independence, why try to bring down one of your biggest guns in the fight?

There has been more public effort expended on GRA reform; private & public consultations, meetings with interested groups, than for Independence. Why?
11/16

There are some very serious questions to answer here;
what are the Scottish Governments aims?
What are they doing to achieve Independence?
Who coordinated the actions against Alex Salmond?
Who encourages nine women to lie In court?
Did you just gasp?
12/16

We need to face into this, uncomfortable and morally turgid as it may be.
Of 14 original accusations, 12 were pursued to verdict. All were dismissed. The clear verdict of the majority female jury was the 9 Women accusers were not believed.
They were lying.
13/16

It is *horrific* that 9 Women sat in court and allegedly lied about sexual assault and rape they claimed to have experienced.
Yes, rape convictions are low and it is abhorrant to not believe Women, but this wasn’t a normal case. Read through the testimony; car crash
14/16

Most of the defence witnesses weren’t even cross examined. If that doesn’t tell you that by that point they knew the game was up or the prosecuting team thought they would undermine their case even further, you’re not paying attention.
15/16

We have a pause before further action.
Certain people in the civil service, @thesnp and @scotgov should be absolutely bricking themselves.

There is revenge and retribution coming and I believe they fully deserve it.

They have done huge damage to Womens’ safety. HMT
16/16

PS lazy wording on my part.

Alex has admired to one sexual encounter. Not plural.