Sir, - Kevin Myers (An Irishman's Diary, January 15th) says that Ken Saro-Wiwa's "alleged crime had nothing to do with human rights and a great deal to do with the murder of five men who disagreed with him." I doubt if any objective person who knew anything whatsoever about the tribunal following which Mr Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues were executed could have come to the same conclusion. Don't take my word for it: an observer from the British Law Society at the "special tribunal" which convicted the Ogoni Nine concluded: "The judgement of the tribunal is not merely wrong, illogical or perverse. It is downright dishonest. The tribunal consistently advanced arguments which no experienced lawyer could possibly believe to be logical or just. I believe the tribunal first decided on its verdicts and then sought arguments to justify them. No barrel was too deep to be scraped."
Two key prosecution witnesses alleged they were threatened and bribed to give false evidence. Mr Saro-Wiwa and his co-accused were known to have been tortured and were adopted as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. The tribunal which convicted them was "special" in that it was of a type much favoured by the late General Abacha: staffed by his military cronies, allowing no right of appeal, and with findings subject to the control of Abacha and his henchmen. By implying the guilt of Mr Saro-Wiwa to support his rant du jour, Mr Myers does no service to his own credibility. - Yours, etc., D. Healy,
Walterstown, Cobh, Co Cork.