Jeweler
Was Told To Lie In Princess Diana Case
December 6, 2006 - Maira Oliveira - All Headline News Reporter
London, England (BANG) - A key witness in the
inquiry into the death
of Britain's Princess Diana recently claimed police threatened him to
change his evidence.
Jeweler Alberto Repossi - who claims he sold Diana's lover Dodi Al Fayed
an engagement ring the day before the couple were killed in a car crash
in Paris on August 31, 1997 - alleges he was put under pressure by
investigators to retract the statement he gave to Lord Stevens, who is
leading the inquiry.
There is speculation that investigators did not want evidence that Diana
and Dodi were to become engaged to be made public, as it would fuel
conspiracy theories championed by Dodi's father Mohammed Al Fayed
that the princess was murdered as part of a secret plot to prevent her
from marrying a Muslim.
Repossi told Britain's Daily Express newspaper, "These are things which I
am absolutely certain about. They warned me if anyone lied to Lord
Stevens - and anyone could include the prime minister or even the secret
service - then he had the power to get people sent to prison.
He added, "They kept repeating the warnings of the risk to my reputation
and the bad press coverage I would get. But despite all this, I was not
prepared to change what I'd said before because it was the truth."
Repossi's testimony - backed up by receipts and CCTV footage - reveals
Dodi and Diana picked a $305,000 emerald and diamond ring from a
range of engagement bands called "Did-Moi Oui" which means "Tell Me
Yes" at his Monte Carlo jewelry store in August 1997.
Dodi - the son of Harrods owner, Mohammad Al Fayed - asked for the
ring to be sent to Repossi's Paris branch so he could collect it on August30.
Repossi said, "I strongly
support any attempt to determine exactly what
caused this terrible tragedy. Until now I thought I could play my part by
co-operating fully with the inquiry. But my treatment during the
interviews has convinced me that they are not interested in establishing
the truth."
He continued, "My real concern is that attempts were certainly made to
get me to change what I knew to be the truth. I believe they were doing
this in order to support theories or conclusions they had already arrived
at before they saw me. They only seemed interested in trying to show
me I was lying."
The investigation is expected to conclude that the crash was an accident
due to driver Henri Paul being under the influence of alcohol and driving
over the speed limit.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005768564