False alibi lawyer sent to jail

Pervez admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice

A lawyer has been jailed for five years and three months after he admitted he gave a false alibi for a man charged with abduction and extortion.

Shahid Pervez, 39, told police the man was in his office discussing an insurance claim when the crime was alleged to have been committed.

At the High Court in Glasgow he admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Pervez claimed he agreed to the false alibi after threats were made.

Sentencing, Lord Hardie said: "You have pled guilty to an offence which strikes at the heart of justice by committing perjury in support of a false alibi for someone charged with a serious offence for whom a trial was fixed.

"As a result, the trial was adjourned for investigation and the accused was allowed bail and is now a fugitive from justice."

He added: "The public is entitled to have the highest standard of integrity and honesty from lawyers and you have betrayed that trust and besmirched the good name of solicitors."

Rule of law

Conveyancing solicitor Pervez, from Crookston, Glasgow, admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice by providing the man with a false alibi in 2005.

Paul McBride QC, defending, described the man given the alibi, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as a significant player who inspired fear amongst criminals.

Integrity and honesty are the core values expected in the legal profession. Clearly, Mr Pervez has betrayed those values Philip Yelland The Law Society of Scotland

He said Pervez agreed to provide the false alibi because the criminal threatened his life and the lives of his family.

Mr McBride said it was an absolute tragedy for the lawyer.

Lord Hardie said it was an absolute tragedy for the course of justice.

He said that after he was threatened, Pervez should have reported the matter to police.

He told Mr McBride that if the rule of law was ignored the courts would be governed by criminals.

"The rule of law is greater than any of us and in this case it hasn't prevailed because there is a fugitive from justice as a result of Pervez's actions," he said.

Crown witness

Pervez has since resigned from his practice at the firm of Belton Pervez in Glasgow and is no longer a solicitor.

Lord Hardie said that in sentencing Pervez he had taken into account the fact that he had given evidence for the Crown in the trial of a Glasgow policeman.

The officer, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly tried to buy a witness's silence in the fugitive's trial, with a £50,000 bribe.

The constable was found not guilty.

Philip Yelland, of the Law Society of Scotland, said: "On the incredibly rare occasions when a former member of the legal profession is caught on the wrong side of the law it is deeply regrettable.

"Mr Pervez's actions are especially disappointing when compared with the high standards that are so frequently displayed by the vast majority of the profession.

"Integrity and honesty are the core values expected in the legal profession. Clearly, Mr Pervez has betrayed those values."

Pervez was found guilty of professional misconduct in December 2005, on a separate matter.

The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal found him guilty of accounting malpractice and not registering title deeds timeously.

He was fined £7,500 and barred from practising for 10 years.

By that stage Pervez had voluntarily withdrawn his name from the roll of solicitors.