HC Deb 25 May 1994 vol 244 cc217-8W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will list the dates on which meetings or contact was made with the Bosnian authorities to discuss the murder of Mr. Paul Goodall;

(2) what contact has been made with Interpol regarding the murder of Mr. Paul Goodall;

(3) when a representative of the Overseas Development Administration last met the public prosecutor in Zenica to discuss the murder of Mr. Paul Goodall;

(4) if a written report on the circumstances surrounding the murder of Mr. Paul Goodall has been received from the public prosecutor in Zenica;

(5) what assistance has been given to the Islamic fund-raising organisation AGASI.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

[holding answers 23 May 1994]: We are doing all we can to insist that the Bosnian authorities carry out a proper investigation into the murder of Paul Goodall and bring the killer or killers to justice. The Overseas Development Administration has had numerous contacts with the Bosnian authorities since Mr. Goodall's murder and an ODA representative last met the public prosecutor in Zenica on 8 April 1994. The Bosnian authorities have decided not to issue a report on the circumstances surrounding Mr. Goodall's murder on legal grounds as this could influence the pre-trial investigation.

The new chargé d'affairs in Sarajevo who arrived in late April has had a meeting with the Minister of Justice and the Deputy Interior Minister to press for action, and will have further contacts with the police in Sarajevo. He will shortly be travelling to Zenica to pursue the matter further there.

We understand that the Bosnian Government have not so far involved Interpol. The chargé d'affairs is encouraging the Bosnian Government to draw on all possible sources of assistance.

We have no knowledge of an Islamic fund-raising organisation called AGASI, and have given it no funding.

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