Prem Sivalingham

Sam Kulasingha, amd Prem Sivalingham were convicted of tripple murder following a petrol attack that killed three people. The primary evidence against them was from two witnesses. On appeal, new evidence suggested that police officers used violence against key witnesses and threatened them with deportation. Appeal judges quashed the convictions on the basis of breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, non-disclosure of evidence that could have helped the defence, and witness unreliability. Judges said that they had a distinct sense of unease about the verdicts, and that the convictions could not be regarded as safe or satisfactory.

View Press (www.independent.co.uk)