Fayed bid for Dodi, Diana inquiry
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Dodi and Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
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LONDON, England -- Mohamed al Fayed has launched an appeal to win a public inquiry into the deaths in a Paris car crash of his son Dodi and Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Egyptian-born owner of the London department store Harrods has already failed in his attempt to persuade English and French courts to open a full inquiry.
A similar request was rejected in April by a senior Scottish judge who ruled it would be inappropriate to open a public inquiry Scotland into an accident that took place in France.
Fayed, who owns a castle in Scotland, is appealing against that decision at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. The hearing, which opened on Monday, is set to last about five days. The judge will issue a judgment later.
"This was not only my son but the most famous, the most loved woman in the world," Fayed told British radio on Monday.
"I am taking my case to the court of appeal because I believe in Scottish justice.
"This is my first home, I have lived here for nearly 35 years and I am hoping that I will get justice," he added.
Diana, the 36-year-old ex-wife of the heir to the British throne Prince Charles, and Dodi Fayed, 42, were killed along with chauffeur Henri Paul when their Mercedes crashed in an underpass on August 31, 1997.
The French authorities ruled in 1999 that the crash was accidental and caused by Paul being drunk and driving too fast.
Al Fayed has repeatedly claimed the crash was no accident, suggesting it was a murder conspiracy plotted by those who disapproved of Diana's relationship with his son.
British authorities announced earlier this year that an inquest -- of a more limited scope than the full public inquiry that Fayed wants -- would be held soon into the death of Dodi Fayed. (Full story)
