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A human rights lawyer who spoke out after his client was convicted of terrorism charges was cleared of contempt of court.

Three High Court judges found that Aamer Anwar did make a "misleading" statement after his client, Mohammed Atif Siddique, was found guilty last year.

But Lord Osborne told the High Court in Edinburgh today: "We are unable to conclude that anything said by the respondent amounted to conduct that denoted wilful defiance of, or disrespect towards, the court."

Neither did Mr Anwar wilfully challenge or affront the authority of the court or the supremacy of the law itself, according to the judge.

"We therefore conclude that no contempt of court has been committed by the respondent."

A group of demonstrators, including former Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan, gathered outside Edinburgh High Court this morning in a show of support for Mr Anwar.

Siddique, 21, from Alva in Clackmannanshire, was jailed at the High Court in Glasgow after he was found guilty of providing material on bomb-making and weapons training, and threatening to become a suicide bomber.

The lawyer had claimed that the trial was conducted in an "atmosphere of hostility".

In a speech outside the High Court in Glasgow after his client's conviction last year, the lawyer also claimed that the verdict was "a tragedy for freedom of speech".

Mr Anwar, from Glasgow, faced jail or a fine if he had been found in contempt.

The high-profile case attracted criticism as an attack on freedom of speech.

Campaign group Liberty sent lawyers to advise the court on human rights issues during a hearing in April - believed to be the first time such an intervention has been made in Scotland.

More than 100 high-profile figures, including author Iain Banks, backed the lawyer by signing a letter declaring their support for him in the run-up to the contempt hearing.

By Scott Macnab

12:14pm Tuesday 1st July 2008

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