The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 3

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1997 "Downer ecret role in Gilford deal Why I waived death penalty: brother tells te r-- 4sSiyi0 par- fy II if I "Till j-. By CRAIG SKEHAN and PHILIP CORNFORD The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, played a secret role in negotiating the deal which yesterday saw Mr Frank Gilford waive his right to demand beheading for a British nurse accused of killing his sister in Saudi Arabia in exchange for a $1.7 million compensation deal. Deborah Parry, 38, faced a possible public beheading if found guilty of the murder of Yvonne Gilford, 55, who was killed at the King Fahd medical centre in Dhahran last December. Under Saudi law, the victim's immediate family could demand the death penalty, or Qissas, for the convicted murderer, or commute the penalty to a jail sentence in return for money. Yesterday Mr Gilford, 59, said: "From information I have received I believe that the nurses are guilty of the murder of my sister, but in the end I leave their guilt to the Saudi courts to determine." He said it was unlikely Parry would receive a lesser sentence than her co-accused, Lucille McLauchlan, 31, who was sentenced to eight years' jail and 500 lashes for being an accessory.

Under the settlement, the Gilford family will receive only $59,000 for "pain and suffering" and the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital would be given $1 million. The rest would be used to pay Mr Gilford's lawyers in Saudi Arabia and Australia and other charities. Mr Downer became involved because of a close link with his old friend Mr Michael Abbott, QC, who came to represent Mr Gilford. That link and a chance meeting on a flight between Sydney and Adelaide led to Mr Downer introducing Mr Abbott to the now outgoing British High Commissioner in Canberra, Sir Roger Carrick. Sources said Mr Downer through meetings with British ministers, Sir Roger and Mr Abbott was able to help finesse the deal which led to yesterday's compromise.

"He was used by the Brits as a go-between; Downer was an. honest broker," one source close to the Gilford family said yesterday. Mr Downer said yesterday he welcomed the outcome as a victory for "commonsense and In July this year, Mr Downer drove up to Mr Gilford's humble cottage in Jamestown, 200 kilometres north of Adelaide, with the aim of convincing him there were just and more humane alternatives to a public beheading. Mr Gilford was fearful that if death sentences were waived, the accused women would get off altogether or with lenient sentences. Yvonne, of course, as a nurse ho had a great love of children, and my family believes this will be a fitting tribute.

Most of the balance of the monies will then be used to pay my Saudi Arabian and Australian lawyers. I will receive only a nominal sum of $50,000 from the settlement monies, which I think that you will all agree is only reasonable considering the pain and suffering that I have had to endure over the last 10 months. My mother will receive a payment of approximately being the specified payment of "diya" under Saudi Arabian law. I would like to make clear I have not accepted any blood money as that is a specified sum under Saudi Arabian law of approximately SI 9,000 but have accepted compensation an alternative to blood money under Saudi law. From information that I have received I believe that the nurses are guilty of the murder of my sister, but in the end I leave their guilt to the Saudi Courts to determine.

I have many people to thank. Firstly, I would like to say that the settlement would not have been possible without the assistance of our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, and the involvement of the British High Commissioner, Sir Roger Carrick. Their diplomatic involvement gave me the comfort that a settlement would be possible despite Mr Salah al-Hejailans repeated attempts to undermine the settlement. I cannot believe Mr al-Hejailan has been acting in his clients' best interests or pursuant to their instructions in the last month. I would like to thank Michael Abbott, QC, and John Keen, my barristers in Australia, whom I have seen far too much of in the last month, for their persistent efforts in achieving this settlement.

I would like to thank my solicitors in Saudi Arabia, The International Law Firm for their efforts and also my solicitors in Australia, Boylan Co. I would also like to thank the people of Jamestown and South Australia who have supported me. Last, I would like to thank my wife, LaureL who has been my Rock of Gibraltar in this sea of recent troubles. Now that a lasting memorial will be built to the memory of my sister and which will benefit the children of this State, I hope that my family and I can now resume our normal lives. This is the full statement read by Frank Gilford yesterday after his decision to waive the right to call for the death penalty in relation to the murder oflus sister Yvonne in Saudi Arabia in 1996: Today I would like to announce that I have waived my right to ask that the death penalty be imposed on either of the nurses who have been charged with the murder of my sister Yvonne, namely Deborah Parry and Lucille McLauchlan.

I have executed a Special Power of Attorney waiving my rights under Saudi Arabian law and this document will be forwarded to the Saudi Arabian Courts forthwith. From the outset, I have only kept open the option of the death penalty, pending the determination of the British nurses' guilt. This was required because, under Saudi Arabian law, once any of the family of the victim waives their rights, then all of the family's rights are foregone. I now believe that the time has come to make a final decision, as Lucille McLauchlan has been convicted as an accessory of the murder of my sister and it is therefore highly likely that Deborah Parry will be found guilty of the murder of my sister. I have always been aware that because of the four-stage mandatory-review process in Saudi Arabia the imposition of any penalty would be many months, if not years, away.

Further, and more importantly, now that I am sure that a lasting memorial to my sister's memory can be built, I believe it is an appropriate time for the death penalty to be waived. Overall, I have been in an unenviable position given that the prison sentences for murder in Saudi Arabia, namely five to 10 years, are quite insignificant compared to the prison sentences which we normally expect for murder in Australia. There is also a possibility that Parry could be released now that I have waived my rights to Qisaas. I have agreed to waive the death penalty in consideration of sources, other than the nurses and their families, providing $1.7 million Australian. My expectation is that the major portion of this money, namely SI million Australian, will be paid to the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital in order for that hospital to build a children's day surgery centre which I hope ill be named the Yvonne Gilford Children's Day Surgery.

Showing clemency Mr Frank Gilford, right, with his lawyers Mr Vernon Cassin, left, and Mr Osama Al Sulaim. The day before his meeting with Mr Gilford, Mr Downer happened to run into Mr Abbott on a flight from Sydney to their home town of Adelaide. Mr Downer raised the Gilford case and asked Mr Abbott for his views. Insiders say Mr Downer expressed opposition to the death penalty and Mr Abbott agreed. Late in August, Mr Abbott telephoned Mr Downer to say he had been appointed as Mr Gilford's senior counsel.

Mr Downer arranged the initial meeting between Mr Abbott and Sir Roger. Mr Downer subsequently stayed in regular contact with both Sir Roger and Mr Abbott and had a total of three face-to-face discussions with the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook. At Princess Diana's funeral on September 6, Mr Cook urged Mr Downer to do everthing possible to save the lives of Parry and McLauchlan. Mr Downer said he was unhappy about unfair portrayals of Mr Gilford in the British media, but that he would push for a compromise. Sources said Mr Downer played a role in obtaining sensitive assurances from the British Government that Saudi Arabia intended to impose substantial prison terms in the event of convictions.

Mr Downer was assured by Mr Abbott that Mr Gilford had no intention of enriching himself through blood money. i From left: Deborah Parry, Lucille McLauchlan and the victim, Yvonne Gilford. Bail for shopkeeper accused of shooting alleged robber 1,1 1 1. 1, Kiwi ii nun i )OZ zJ (pa i i inflict grievous bodily harm, malicious wounding and possessing a loaded firearm in a public place. Asking for bail to be refused, Sergeant Shridhar said the shooting was not spontaneous.

"There is an element of premeditation." The court was told Nikolic had no licence for the revolver. Nikolic's barrister, Mr Wayne Baffsky, said his client the president of the local Albanian community who worked seven days a week to support his wife and four children had been simply trying to protect himself. "This is not a man of violence who shot somebody walking into the shop," Mr Baffsky said. "He was quite clearly acting in self-defence. There is no doubt about that The magistrate, Mr Paul Sloane, granted Nikolic bail on condition that $5,000 and deeds to a property worth $100,000 were lodged with the court.

The case was adjourned to Parramatta Court on November 13. By RICHARD MACEY A fish and chip shop owner has been granted bail after a court was told he had shot a man who went back to his shop after earlier threatening to throw him into boiling chip oil. Blacktown Local Court heard yesterday that shopkeeper Kolja Nikolic told alleged robber Patrick Bruce Ennis he was going to shoot him and then fired two bullets into him. Ennis, 33, of Shalvey, near Mount Druitt, is fighting for his life in Nepean Hospital. Nikolic, 44, who owns the Willmot Take Away in Discovery Avenue, Willmot, also near Mount Druitt, was granted bail yesterday after being charged with attempting to murder Ennis.

However, late yesterday Nikolic, a leading member of Sydney's Albanian community, was still in custody as relatives tried to meet the bail conditions. It is expected he will be released today. The police prosecutor, Sergeant Derek Shridhar, told the court Ennis walked unarmed into the" takeaway shop at 5.30 pm on Tuesday and threatened to throw Nikolic into the shop's boiling oil unless he handed over money. "He demanded money and received $20," Sergeant Shridhar said. The thief fled but "returned 45 minutes later and demanded money The prosecutor told the court that Nikolic opened a cupboard and produced a gun and Ennis then asked him: "You are not going to shoot me, are you?" "Yes," Nikolic allegedly replied before shooting Ennis in the right shoulder and lower abdomen.

The prosecutor said Ennis was "in a very critical condition his prospects of surviving are not very good at Sergeant Shridhar said a 12-year-old boy witnessed the shooting. Nikolic is charged with attempted murder, shooting to ACCCjoinsa drag Net for Web frauds It is hailed as the new frontier of technology but the Internet is also the new frontier of fraud, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Tomorrow the ACCC will co-ordinate a 24-hour worldwide sweep of the Web which will target the get-rich-quick schemes it claims could cost Australians millions. "Around 1.2 million Australians are using the Internet now, and this is expected to rise to 4.7 million by 2001," the acting ACCC chairman, Mr Allan Asher, said in a statement "And it is estimated about 108,000 are already shopping via the Net "Sadly, international experience shows that about 10 per cent of the transactions are fraudulent people using new technology and old ideas to relieve innocent consumers of their money." The ACCC will co-ordinate the sweep with sister agencies in 25 countries including the United States, Britain, France, South Africa, Hungary and Canada. "We're cracking the whip on this," an ACCC spokeswoman said.

"There's already a big problem out there that's getting bigger all the time. Last year we had a few complaints but this year we're averaging 48 complaints per month." But Mr Asher stressed: "Our aim is not to scare people off the Internet but to warn them of the pitfalls and to improve their confidence using the Internet by cleaning it up. If we can get some of these scams off, or at least reduce their success rates, the Internet will be safer for everyone." He said the operation to be using Internet search tools, indexes and bulletin boards from a series of sweep rooms could be repeated in future as part of ongoing battle against Net fraud. He said international protective protocols for Internet usage were being negotiated but could take some time to come into effect "So consumer agencies are acting today." Gas main steals the show at launch Natalie Cole, Peter, Paul Mary, Air Supply and Jimmy Barnes. The Premier told the official opening of the Show room that Star City would address Sydney's shortage of venues.

"With the opening of the Lyric theatre and now this great cabaret theatre, we've really solved the problem," Mr Carr said. He denied Star City ould be like Melbourne's Crown Casino, which has been accused of starving the city's smaller venues of audiences. "This isn't the huge and bulky addition to the city that the Melbourne casino is. Star City) will be a very attractive place to come and it doesn't represent the massive transformation of the city that that excrescence in Melbourne represents," he said. RICHARD JINMAN Diana Ross, Tom Jones and Michael Crawford were almost upstaged by a broken gas main yesterday at the official opening of the 900-seat Showroom theatre at the new Star City casino complex.

Soon after a press conference confirming that the trio of big-name entertainers would open the casino on November 26, the leaking main, damaged by a vehicle, forced the evacuation of the building. Members of Dein Perry 's Steel City tap-dancing troupe a new production which opens in the Showroom on January 3 entertained evacuees with an impromptu performance in the street. Earlier, it was confirmed American superstar Diana Ross would play a free concert on a floating stage in Darling Harbour. About 50,000 people are expected Diana Ross and Tom Jones. to attend the event, to feature the Australian vocal quartet Human Nature, on November 26.

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