Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Orkney wave sculpture auctioned to fund convicted murderer Michael Ross’ freedom bid

Former Black Watch soldier Michael Ross fled the dock immediately after being convicted of the murder.
Former Black Watch soldier Michael Ross fled the dock immediately after being convicted of the murder.

A striking steel sculpture is being auctioned in aid of a campaign fighting to clear the name of convicted killer Michael Ross, jailed 11 years ago this week for murdering a waiter in Orkney.

It is the third in a series of sculptures created by island artist Jimmy Dearness, a semi-retired businessman who is convinced the former Army sniper is innocent.

It will be the 11th anniversary tomorrow of Ross being jailed for life for the 1994 masked attack on Shamsuddin Mahmood, 26, at an Indian Restaurant in Kirkwall – when he was just 15.

Shamsuddin Mahmood

The 40-year-old has now spent more than a quarter of his life behind bars.

Mr Dearness, a neighbour and family friend of Ross’s parents, has created two previous works for the campaign – a spectacular schooner named Justice and a lighthouse called Hope.

Both were sold privately for “sizeable sums” which went towards the campaign group “Justice for Michael Ross” (J4MR).

The latest stainless steel sculpture is of a massive sea scene, entitled “Making Waves for Freedom”.

It is being sold in a silent auction beginning tomorrow and running until August.

Mr Dearness, whose own son Jimmy jnr used to play with Mr Ross when they were children, said: “It’s been completely obvious to me since the beginning that the case against Michael was non-existent and distorted.

“It’s been very difficult watching this nightmare unfold for a family I care about.”

He first decided to “make a boat for Michael” which boosted the campaign considerably, as did the lighthouse sculpture.

He added: “When it was suggested to me that a wave might be an ideal new project I immediately said ‘I’ve always wanted to make a wave’.

“I tried to depict this shape and was delighted when I managed to get the vision I had in mind.”

The first of his wave sculptures will now be offered for silent auction to raise further funds to go towards legal fees. Top human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar has taken on the case.

A J4MR spokeswoman said: “We want this truly stunning piece of art of be a symbol of our story – collectible, unique and made with love, humanity and a passion for justice and truth.

“These pieces will be symbolic of the journey taken by those in the community that were not prepared to stand back and allow a travesty of justice to prevail.

“There is nothing that depicts ‘Freedom’ more than the beautiful and breath-taking statue created by Jimmy.”

J4MR aim to submit an updated case to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) with a view to gaining a referral to the Court of Appeal and clearing his name.