A former British ambassador to Uzbekistan has made the follow-up to his bestselling memoir Murder in Samarkand available for free online after it was dropped by his publisher following legal threats.
The new book, The Catholic Orangemen of Togo and Other Conflicts I Have Known, covers Craig Murray's time in Africa between 1997 and 2001 as part of the British diplomatic service, as he negotiated peace with Sierra Leone rebels and worked towards democracy in Ghana.
The book is the prequel to Murder in Samarkand, Murray's explosive memoir of his time in Uzbekistan which accused the government of complicity in human rights abuse and which sold over 20,000 copies following its publication in 2006. The Catholic Orangemen of Togo was originally lined up to be published last August. However, following the threat of legal action from Schillings lawyers acting for Aegis founder Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Spicer, who is named in the book, Murray's publisher Mainstream decided to drop it. "We couldn't reach an agreement with Craig about content," said Mainstream publisher Bill Campbell, who described Murray as "never one for being shy". "It was very amicable. We all decided that we would walk away ... and he would publish himself."
Murray has made the 226-page book available for free on his website and other sites across the internet, as well as self-publishing a number of hard copies which he is selling for £17.99. He says that 15,000 people downloaded the book in the first day. "There's been a lot of interest," said Murray, who is now rector of the University of Dundee after he was sacked from his position in Uzbekistan after criticising the country's human rights record. "Murder in Samarkand sold about 23,000, which is not bad for non-fiction - this is just from my site which downloaded 15,000 on day one. The whole point is that I'm trying to smash the libel laws."
He said he was "99.9% confident" that he wouldn't be hearing from the lawyers. "I know for sure everything in the book is true - it's stuff I did and saw myself," he said.
Murray said he hoped his self-publication would mean that more people would read the book rather than less, despite the efforts which have been taken to repress it. He said he was "expecting and hoping" that if no legal action is taken against him, he will be able to sell the book back to a major publisher, which could then bring out a paperback edition this autumn.
Schillings declined to comment.