The Sunday Express has an article by Ben Borland which claims to have substantiated the rumour that Abdelbaset Megrahi took part over the telephone in a discussion programme on the Arabic service of Al-Jazeera on 29 August 2008. Megrahi apparently vehemently maintained his innocence, said that he understood the pain of the relatives of those killed at Lockerbie and praised the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission for referring his case back for a further appeal on the ground that he might have suffered a miscarriage of justice.
The article contains reaction (horrified, as would be expected from that source) from Susan Cohen, whose daughter was one of those killed on Pan Am 103.
The Scottish Prison Service commented that communication with the media without prior permission is contrary to prison rules, but that there is no evidence of Megrahi's having made anything other than local telephone calls at or about the relevant period.
The full article can be read here.
Other Scottish newspapers have picked up the Sunday Express story and run it (without attribution, of course).
I'm not too sure as to why this story has received such substantial and sensational 'airing'.
ReplyDelete1: As a prisoner serving a sentence under Scots Law and Scottish Prison Service Regulations Mr. Megrahi is entitled to make phones calls from prison. There have been successful civil rights cases in this respect.
2: If, as has been reported, Megrah's FORMER Libyan legal adviser played any form in the 'arrangement' of the call and subsequent broadcast - were he to be a member of the Socttish Legal Profession he would, by now, be facing possibly serious charges.
3: To the best of my knowledge, the Lybian based legal adviser has NOT, in fact, represented Megrahi for several years.
4: The quotations from one particular family does not surprise me, but I should, respectfully, point out that she did lose a child whom she loved dearly. However as one who has met with many of the over 180 US famillies - the lady quoted does NOT represent the views of any other US family but her own. It has been claimed by various international journalists working with US outlets that there are a small number (3) of US relatives who can be totally relied on to make emotive and tearful comments on request...
(5) This story and it's subsequent coverage can have done NOTHING to further Mr. Megrahi's pending second appeal (neither did anything in the BBC2 Conspiracy FilesProgram transmitted week ago and covered on this excellent site) and one is forced to wonder the identity and motivatations of those behind both stories!!!!
I am saddened that Mr. Megrhai should have been lead/induced to wander through what is, undoubtedly a propoganda 'minefield' with what could be unfortunate repercussions for himself.