A police officer who held colleague Yvonne Fletcher as she lay dying has said justice has been a “long time coming” after a landmark court ruling.
PC Fletcher was shot in the back while on duty at an anti-Gaddafi protect in central London outside the Libyan embassy on April 17, 1984.
Yesterday, a former aide to Col Gaddafi was found jointly liable for killing the 25-year-old.
And tonight, her colleague and friend John Murray told the Press and Journal that this was “just the beginning”.
Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk had been arrested over PC Fletcher’s murder back in 2015.
However, the investigation was dropped two years later after it was ruled that crucial evidence could not be used for national security reasons.
Determined to see justice for his friend, Mr Murray, who is originally from Aberdeen, brought a civil action against Mabrouk.
“The judge said he’d never seen a courtroom cheer like that before”
After a three-day trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, those in attendance cheered as the judge concluded that while Mabrouk hadn’t fired any shots, he was jointly liable for the killing.
Mr Murray, 66, who himself suffered from PTSD as a result of the shooting, said: “It was a very emotional day when it happened the whole of the court erupted into applause – something I’ve been told has never happened in the high court before.
“It has taken us 37 and a half years to get here, and it’s a day I never thought we would see. We have beaten the odds.
“This day has been a long-time coming, and I know Yvonne would be proud.
“I have plans to visit her grave and tell her about what we have done.”
Mr Murray was so determined to get justice for his friend that he worked as a school caretaker to afford the legal representation.
He now hopes that after the successful civil case, criminal proceedings can take place – and admitted he still can’t understand how national security was used as a reason for dropping a 30-year-old case in 2015.
He said: “It has been a long time coming, but I wouldn’t change a thing. The support from officers all around the world has been amazing.
“The justice we got yesterday isn’t just for Yvonne or me, it is for all police officers in the UK, god forbid if anything happened to any of them there will be people who will seek justice.”
Hundreds of police officers from around the world have reached out via e-mail to congratulate Mr Murray on the courtroom verdict.