Court jails Dizaei for corruption

MET Cdr Ali Dizaei has been sentenced to four years in jail after being found guilty of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice during a four-week trial.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court took less than three hours on Monday to convict Cdr Dizaei of threatening and falsely arresting Iraqi web designer Waad al-Baghdadi in a row over £600.

Dizaei, 47, has been ordered to spend two years in prison and two years on licence.

The jury found he attacked Mr al-Baghdadi before arresting and attempting to frame him.

Sentencing him, Mr Justice Simon said the jail term included a deterrent element 'to send a clear message that police officers of whatever rank are not above the law'.

The judge said Dizaei had shown a 'grave abuse of public trust' and his conduct had persisted for some time.

The corruption conviction is likely to spell the end of the Iranian-born officer's 24-year police career. But it is now up to the Met to decide whether Dizaei, who has been suspended on full pay since September 2008, will be sacked for gross misconduct.