Alex Salmond, Scotland’s Ex-First Minister, Cleared of Sexual Assault

A jury found Mr. Salmond, who led the push for independence in a 2014 referendum, not guilty of attempted rape and sexual assault. Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland, was acquitted on Monday of sexual offenses that involved accusations from nine women. A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found Mr.

Salmond, the former leader of the Scottish National Party, not guilty of 12 charges, including one count of attempted rape and several sexual assault charges. The trial, which started on March 9, ended on Monday after the jury deliberated for about six hours, according to British news reports. Mr. Salmond, who was first investigated by Police Scotland after two women said that he had sexually harassed them in the past, was initially charged with 14 offenses, in January 2019.

He denied all the accusations against him. The claims against Mr. Salmond, who led the push for Scottish independence that led to a 2014 referendum, date back to the years he was Scotland’s first minister, from May 2007 to November 2014. Mr.

Salmond resigned after voters rejected independence from Britain in the referendum. He told the court that the allegations, made by a politician from the Scottish National Party, current and former civil servants, and other women, were “exaggerations” and “deliberate fabrications for a political purpose,” the BBC reported. Speaking to journalists after his acquittal, Mr. Salmond said that his faith in Scotland’s court system had been “much reinforced” and that new evidence would eventually “see the light of day,” but only after the coronavirus outbreak is over.

“Whatever nightmare I’ve been in over the last two years, it is nothing compared to the nightmare that every single one of us is currently living through,” Mr. Salmond said of the outbreak. He urged people to go home and take care of their families.

“Mr.”

Salmond’s acquittal was received on social media with equal measures of dismay and approval. Rape Crisis Scotland, a nonprofit organization based in Glasgow, said Monday was “a really difficult day” for survivors who had been following the case. “The vast majority of survivors don’t even see a courtroom, let alone justice, and today like every day we stand firm in our belief in survivors,” the group said in a statement. It described Mr.