A Roman Catholic priest who witnessed the aftermath of the Lockerbie bombing today called for the release of the man convicted for it.
Father Patrick Keegans said Libyan national Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was innocent of the crime and also deserved release on compassionate grounds. (...)
Fr Keegans told a Glasgow press conference: "I'm here today because of my conscience."
He said he had not so far sought publicity but had been moved this week by newspaper accounts of Megrahi's wife and family.
They are staying in Glasgow in order to be able to visit him in prison.
"My conscience has moved so much over the past two days that I wrote to Mr Megrahi offering him my support, telling him that I was convinced he is innocent and that I would willingly offer support to him and his family," said the priest.
Fr Keegans said that that view put him at odds with friends in the US - many of whom were "convinced" of the Libyan's guilt.
"If I was convinced of Mr Megrahi's guilt, I would not be here today," he said.
"I'm here today because of his human plight, I'm here because I believe Scotland is a compassionate and a fair country.
"I also believe that justice for Mr Megrahi will equal justice for the families because the full truth of Lockerbie has never been revealed."
Fr Keegans, who now lives in Ayr, was a priest in Lockerbie at the time of the bombing.
[From The Herald's report of today's press conference to mark the launch of the Justice for Megrahi campaign. The full report can be read here.]
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