Bloggers v the Mainstream Media

Bloggers v the Mainstream Media

Alisher Usmanov has claimed that blogger Craig Murray is insane, and has thrown down the gauntlet to Craig Murray to prove that he is sane enough to allow Alisher Usmanov the opportunity to sue him for libel for the accusations he has made against Alisher Usmanov in a book and on his blog.

Like Alisher Usmanov I am not a psychiatrist, therefore I am in no position to judge Craig Murray's mental state of mind. However, as I understand it, given that Craig Murray has made his accusations, the onus is upon Alisher Usmanov to sue for libel if he wishes to challenge what has been written about him. If Craig Murray then decides to argue that he is not guilty by reason of insanity, it would be up to the court to decide whether to accept this defence. I suspect that Craig Murray would not rely upon this line of defence, and one has to question why Alisher Usmanov has raised the issue of Craig Murray's insanity. Given that Alisher Usmanov has used the Sunday Times to launch his attack upon Craig Murray, I suspect that he has libeled Craig Murray by alleging that he is insane. Furthermore, I suspect that Craig Murray is in a better position to prove his accusations against Alisher Usmanov than the latter is to prove Craig Murray is insane.

Alisher Usmanov is not a diamond geezer "Last week he flew a party of journalists by private jet to the Moscow headquarters of his iron, steel, media and sports empire, and put them up at the five-star Kempinski hotel". This charm offensive cuts no ice with De Beers. Because he is now embroiled in a diamond fraud row in the US courts.