 |
|
|
A decade after Princess Diana and her last lover Dodi al-Fayed were killed in a car crash, an inquest into their deaths opened Tuesday in London, as allegations that they were “murdered” continue to emerge. At the High Court in London, presiding coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker outlined that the jury of six women and five men has to pass judgment on what happened in that tragic August night without being influenced by external factors.
CCTV footage from the Ritz Hotel in Paris, which is owned by Dodi's father, Mohammed al-Fayed, showed how the couple spent their last few hours before the fatal crash on August 31, 1997. The footage was presented Wednesday for the first time.
The footage showed how Dodi, and his bodyguard Trever Rees, left the hotel in central Paris on the afternoon of August 31 to visit Repossi's, the jeweler’s, and Dodi returning with a brochure from the famous shop soon afterwards. Minutes later, the hotel's security chief, Claude Roulet, is seen coming into the hotel with a small paper bag that, it is alleged by al-Fayed, contained an engagement ring for Diana.
"It is likely that pregnancy is a matter that cannot be proved one way or the other in scientific terms in this case," Baker said, adding there was evidence that the princess had been using the contraceptive pill.
Earlier, the jury was shown a "final picture" of Princess Diana, taken some five minutes before she died in the crash.
Diana, her lover Dodi al-Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died after the car they were in smashed at high speed into a pillar of the Pont d'Alma tunnel on August 31, 1997. The only survivor of the tragic accident was the couple’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones.
Dodi's father, Mohammed al-Fayed, again lashed out at the British intelligence and royal family for allegedly standing behind the "murder" of Diana and his son. "I'm certain of what happened, I know they have been murdered," al-Fayed told journalists outside the High Court. "I'm hoping to God to find the murderer or the gangster that took the life of two innocent people. I will not rest until that's done."
The Egyptian businessman’s spokesman, Michael Cole, said this inquest is the "last best chance to get at the plain and untarnished truth." He also said that Queen Elizabeth II should be heard as a witness, a call previously made by al-Fayed’s legal team. "At stages in her life the only person Diana could talk to in confidence in the royal family was the queen. She has unrivalled knowledge of the princess's state of mind," Cole said.
The inquest is expected to last nearly half a year, during which up to 70 witnesses will be heard. Media speculated that Prince Philip and Diana’s former husband, Prince Charles, are going to be called to testify.
© 2007 - 2008 - eFluxMedia