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Met police chief denies corruption charges
Ben Bailey5 Aug 2009
A top Scotland Yard police officer pleaded not guilty today to corruption charges linked to a scuffle in a restaurant.
Ali Dizaei, 47, a Metropolitan Police commander, is accused of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice.
He formally denied the two charges during a 20-minute hearing at Southwark Crown Court in central London.
Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC adjourned the case until October 9 and said a two week trial may begin on November 30.
Wearing a dark blue shirt and tie, Dizaei entered the dock to confirm his name and enter the not guilty pleas.
He was accompanied in court by a large number of people, including members of the Metropolitan Black Police Association.
The prosecution follows an investigation by officials from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
They are linked to an incident outside the Persian Yas restaurant in Kensington, west London, on July 18 last year.
Dizaei, who was wearing his uniform, arrested businessman Waad Al-Baghdadi after a row in which he claimed he was poked with the mouthpiece of a hookah water pipe.
The first charge alleges Dizaei is responsible for misconduct in a public office by threatening Mr Al-Baghdadi and by "purporting to arrest and detain" him knowing he did not have reasonable grounds.
The second charge alleges Dizaei perverted the course of justice by falsely claiming in written statements that he "had been a victim of an unprovoked assault by Mr Al-Baghdadi".
Prosecutor Peter Wright QC said there could be up to 40 witnesses during the trial which will be heard by a High Court judge.
He said: "This indictment arises out of incidents that then occurred on that evening and are now set out in those two counts.
"It is a relatively short incident and therefore so far as direct evidence of the events of that night are concerned they are relatively confined in terms of length and also the witnesses who deal directly with it."
Dizaei, who was represented in court by barrister Matthew Ryder, was released on conditional bail.
The senior officer, who is president of the National Black Police Association and wore one of the organisation's lapel badges, gave his address as care of his solicitor.
Dizaei, who was released on conditional bail, left the court without commenting.
