Family's plea over Briton jailed for bribery
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Your support makes all the difference.The family of a former British Army officer jailed in Afghanistan for bribery insisted today that he was innocent and appealed for his release.
Bill Shaw, from Leeds, was working for G4S, a British security group which provides protection for diplomatic personnel, when he was arrested over a £13,000 payment for the release of two impounded armoured vehicles belonging to the company.
Mr Shaw, who served for 28 years with the Royal Military Police and was awarded an MBE, claims the payment was a fine but officials reportedly disappeared with the money.
He is serving a two-year sentence in a Kabul prison after being prosecuted by an anti-corruption tribunal.
His family insist he has done nothing wrong and have launched a campaign for his release.
Speaking on GMTV, his daughter, Lisa Luckyn-Malone, said: "He is completely straight. If he went into a shop and they gave him too much change he would return it. It is just not in his character at all."
His wife, Liz, said he thought he was making an official payment.
She said: "That is the policy there. The vehicles were taken on several occasions and to get them back you have to pay a release fee, and that is what he did.
"He was a company rep and he went and did what he thought he had to do."
She said her husband had co-operated with the Afghan authorities, believing they were conducting an investigation into the payments for impounded vehicles.
"He believed that the inquiry was into the fact that they were having to pay this release fee continuously to get their vehicles back. He co-operated and eventually they turned the attention on him and said he was the one who was the guilty person," she said.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "We continue to follow Bill Shaw's case closely following the verdict at the court hearing on April 26.
"We shall continue to provide consular assistance to Mr Shaw and his family, including working to ensure best possible treatment and facilities.
"Should Mr Shaw seek to appeal, we will press the Afghan authorities to ensure this takes place as soon as possible."
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