Press Release – Sekar’s Pivotal Role

Satish Sekar — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:22:32 +0000

Experts acknowledge the pivotal role that Satish Sekar, author of Fitted In: The Cardiff 3 and the Lynette White Inquiry and The Cardiff Five: Innocent Beyond Any Doubt played in the Lynette White Inquiry over twenty years. His latest book is hailed by experts as essential reading.

“This is one of the most important books ever written about criminal justice.It would be easy to confine my remarks to the Cardiff Five case but this would be a disservice to the thrust of this narrative as well as its author. If anyone wants to know what has been going on, and going wrong, over the past half century spanning my entire professional career, here it is. Written with spell-binding passion alongside meticulous research and observation, Satish Sekar has accomplished what few others have achieved. It is redolent of those magnificent French films starring Yves Montand where one man takes on the state in the pursuit of truth and justice – and succeeds.”

Michael Mansfield QC

The Fitted-In Project welcomes the publication of Satish Sekar’s new book The Cardiff Five: Innocent Beyond Any Doubt, which follows on from his first book Fitted In: the Cardiff 3 and the Lynette White Inquiry. Sekar’s analysis provides an exhaustive account of a vexed and unique case. His long awaited second book explains why this case rather than any other made history several times.

“The Lynette White murder case, with its long-drawn-out repercussions, has now become one of the most important in the entire history of British criminal justice. This is entirely because of the tireless work and extraordinary insight of Satish Sekar, who has fought for many years to achieve justice for all concerned.”

Bob Woffinden (Author and journalist)

It has taken 14 years for Sekar to produce another book. The Cardiff Five: Innocent Beyond Any Doubt published by Waterside Press has proved worth the wait and sadly necessary. Even now, with their innocence proven, an unjustified whispering campaign continues. This book demonstrates the innocence of the five accused men clearly.

“As the local MP I came to respect and admire his thoroughness and persistence and he also won the respect of senior police officers and others with a knowledge both of this individual case and the processes of criminal investigation whether in regard to the use of forensic evidence or in setting the criminal investigation process in the context of the individual experiences of those who were drawn into the courtroom events that followed. His contribution has been enormous.”

Alun Michael JP, MP

Sekar’s book shows how history was made several times. It details the concept of vindication – a concept developed by Sekar – arguing that it is the motor of change in the criminal justice system that resulted not only in the conviction of the real killer, Jeffrey Gafoor, but a unique, but ultimately flawed investigation into what went wrong. Sekar points out that this obscured successes and prevented it from achieving its full potential.

“This is one of the most important books to have been written in the last decade on miscarriages of justice and everyone should read it. Satish Sekar has been one of the most dedicated opponents of miscarriages of justice for many years. His work has been invaluable. His persistence has also ensured that these issues have remained within the public eye. His constant fight for justice has led to some very important questions being asked and issues highlighted.”

Mags Gavan (BAFTA award-winning film-maker)

Press Release – Further Response to Conduct of BBC

Satish Sekar — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:10:26 +0000

“There can be no doubt that but for Satish Sekar’s tireless determination, the real killer of Lynette White would never have been caught.”

Martin Shipton – Chief Reporter of the Western Mail and Echo

The Fitted-In Project is saddened that once again the BBC has chosen to marginalise our work on the Lynette White Inquiry, especially that of our founder and CEO, Satish Sekar. We are very disappointed that tonight’s Panorama programme has chosen to rewrite history. For an accurate record of that history-making case see Sekar’s books Fitted In: The Cardiff 3 and the Lynette White Inquiry and The Cardiff Five: Innocent Beyond Any Doubt, which was recently published by Waterside Press.

“This is one of the most important books ever written about criminal justice. What becomes glaringly apparent is that this is no isolated case. It has become exceptional because of the motivating force exerted by Satish. … This was the problem in the first place when trying to undo a miscarriage. It required the good offices of investigative journalists on Rough Justice, World in Action and Trial and Error to invest time and money. Satish has done the same for longer on a shoestring, against greater odds and almost as a one man band.”

Michael Mansfield QC

“Satish Sekar has been assiduous in following the events surrounding the murder of Lynette White in Cardiff in 1988. From the beginning he questioned the techniques that were used and decisions of the authorities in regard to this case and many of his views – which appeared marginal at the time – turned out to be accurate or close to the truth in a way that has certainly helped the cause of justice and investigation. As the local MP I came to respect and admire his thoroughness and persistence … His contribution has been enormous. … Satish is right to continue to ask questions both in respect of the workings of the criminal justice system and the policies that are pursued in a society that seeks to be governed by the Rule of Law.”

The Rt. Hon. Alun Michael JP, MP

The Fitted-In Project is concerned that the impact of the work conducted by its members has been marginalised. Incredibly this includes Professor Dave Barclay, the former Head of Physical Evidence at the National Crime Faculty. Barclay’s role in correcting the miscarriage of justice that befell the Cardiff Five has never been properly acknowledged by media. Sekar’s latest book explains the pivotal role played by Barclay.

“The forensic science in the Lynette White murder case seems complex at first sight. It comprises a combination of pathology, scene analysis, bloodgrouping, finger-marks, several varieties of DNA and novel tests for the Y-chromosome (male). It certainly seems complex in the way Satish Sekar has had to describe it. It is not. … The science became complex simply and only in order to explain away an obvious but inconvenient fact – that a single male stabbed Lynette White over 50 times; in so doing he cut his own hand and left his own blood in the flat exactly where you would expect. That person was Jeffrey Gafoor.”

Professor Dave Barclay

Sekar was told immediately after the convictions of the Cardiff Three were quashed to move on to other cases. He refused, seeing the potential for change and understanding that the Cardiff Five had to be vindicated – proved innocent beyond doubt by the conviction of the real killer. Other media left him to fight alone. That included the BBC, which only began covering it again after his work had borne fruit. It ignored both him and the work of The Fitted-In Project in that coverage.

“It is of particular significance because the real perpetrator of the murder, Jeffrey Gafoor, was finally traced through developments in DNA and, after attempting suicide, confessed to his crime, a crime made worse by the fact that he had allowed others to, as it were, serve his sentence for him. Such vindication, as Satish Sekar explains in this book, is rare. … No-one is better suited to the task of explaining and unravelling the complexities of the story than Satish whose pioneering work has played a large part in our understanding of the murder and its ramifications. He has ploughed an often lonely furrow in pursuit of the story long after it had slipped from the front pages of the national press. … It is good that Satish Sekar can now add a new work to the genre.”

Duncan Campbell

“The Lynette White murder case, with its long-drawn-out repercussions, has now become one of the most important in the entire history of British criminal justice. This is entirely because of the tireless work and extraordinary insight of Satish Sekar, who has fought for many years to achieve justice for all concerned.”

Bob Woffinden

Fitted-In » BOB WOFFINDEN

Press Release – Sekar’s Pivotal Role

Press Release – Further Response to Conduct of BBC