Chhokar pair fail in freedom bid

Three men stood accused of murdering Mr Chhokar

Two witnesses convicted of lying during the second trial for the murder of Indian waiter Surjit Chhokar have failed in their attempt to be freed from jail.

Ronnie Coulter and Sandra Tierney, from Wishaw, in Lanarkshire, were sentenced to two years' imprisonment earlier this month for contempt of court.

Coulter had been cleared of murdering Mr Chhokar in an earlier trial.

Coulter is appealing under human rights law

He is appealing against his conviction under the European Convention of Human Rights on the basis that he should not have appeared before the same judge who presided in the Chhokar trial.

Lord Bonomy presided over both the second Chhokar murder trial and the contempt of court case against 32-year-old Coulter.

Tierney, 32, has also lodged an appeal against her sentence.

But pleas for them to be released on bail pending those appeals were rejected by judges at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

Cleared of murder

Mr Chhokar was stabbed outside the house he shared with his girlfriend in Overtown, Lanarkshire, on 4 November 1998.

Coulter was cleared of the murder of Mr Chhokar, 32, after blaming his nephew Andrew Coulter, 19, and 23-year-old David Montgomery.

They were also cleared of the murder charge last November after blaming Ronnie Coulter for the crime.

Sandra Tierney was also found guilty

Andrew Coulter - who is serving six years for killing a man while waiting to come to trial on the Chhokar murder charge - was found guilty of a reduced charge of assault and was given 12 months' detention.

Ronnie Coulter was accused of being evasive during the second trial at the High Court in Paisley.

Lord Bonomy said Coulter's behaviour was unacceptable and also viewed Tierney as a hostile witness.

The failure to secure a murder conviction after two trials caused a wave of controversy and led to a demand from the Chhokar family for a public inquiry - a call rejected by the lord advocate.

Instead he announced a judicial inquiry into the decision making process and an inquiry into the prosecutor's liaison with the victim's family.