Saturday 9 May 2009

Megrahi transfer row puts Salmond under pressure

[What follows are excerpts from a report in the Daily Express. The full text can be read here.]

Alex Salmond yesterday came under mounting pressure not to send the Lockerbie bomber home to die as he insisted politics would play no part in any transfer.

The First Minister said the request to allow terminally ill Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi to serve the remainder of his sentence in Libya would be considered on “judicial grounds alone”.

His comments came as American relatives of those who died in the 1988 atrocity revealed they had made a direct plea to Scottish ministers, who have the final say on whether the deal is done, to block Tripoli’s request.

It is also thought the United States government, which has long maintained Megrahi should complete his sentence in Scotland, is preparing to make diplomatic representations about the case. (...)

His second appeal against the conviction began at the Appeal Court in Edinburgh last week, but this must be dropped if his transfer to a Libyan jail is to take place.

Mr Salmond said it would have been “greatly to be preferred if the judicial processes of Scotland” were allowed to take their course.

But he insisted that the decision on the prisoner transfer – which will be considered by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill – would be based solely on judicial grounds. (...)

Ministers have up to 90 days to reach a decision on the case under the terms of a controversial prisoner transfer agreement struck between then Prime Minister Tony Blair and Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi two years ago. American Susan Cohen, whose 20-year-old daughter Theodora was among those killed, last night said she had already e-mailed the Nationalist administration pleading for the request to be refused.

Ms Cohen said: “It would be a horrible slap in the face to the Scottish justice system if this man, who is a convicted mass murderer lest we forget, is allowed home. There are many conspiracy theories but not a single shred of evidence has come out saying anything other than the truth of Libyan involvement. He would be feted as a hero back in Libya.”

A spokesman for the US Embassy said his government’s long-held position was that “Megrahi should serve his sentence in a Scottish prison”. Asked if the US State Department would be making any representation he said: “We can’t discuss diplomatic exchanges.”

Until now, Megrahi, who is serving a minimum of 27 years in HMP Gateside, Greenock, has insisted he wants to clear his name.

His appeal continued yesterday. Five judges in Edinburgh have spent eight days listening to criticisms of the Camp Zeist trial in the Netherlands which found him guilty.

His QC, Maggie Scott, yesterday made no mention of the transfer request. But she told the court Megrahi had given up watching proceedings over a live CCTV link with his prison cell.

She said: “He is in considerable discomfort. He does, however, want matters to proceed.

“It is appropriate I point that out to the court.”

2 comments:

  1. Dear Scottish Justiciary. What goes on is a barbarous cruelty!

    What has been done and is still done to Mr. Abdelbaset al Megrahi, an innocent and terminally ill man, by the Scottish Justice is very hard to bear.
    Lockerbie is the biggest fraud in the history of Scotland!

    Please watch now the full documentary film "Lockerbie revisited" by Regisseur Gideon Levy, shown to Scottish members of Parliament about important facts concerning the conspiracy against Libya.

    Link: http://www.vpro.nl/programma/tegenlicht/afleveringen/41867169/media/41892895/

    The main subject dealt with the notorious 'timer circuit board MST-13 fragment', called PT35B in the court records.
    FBI Task Force Chief Richard Marquise answered Gideon Levy's question G. L.: Would you have a case if you wouldn't have these evidence (MST-13 timer)? R.M.: Would we have a case. It would be a very dificult case to prove. It would be a very dificult case to prove ... I don't think we would ever had an indictment. And he said also: But I can tell you that now money was paid to any witness, any witness prior to the trial. No promise of money was made to any witness prior to the trial. G.L.: And was there paid any money after he trial? R.M.: I'm not gonna answer that.
    And he said: If someone manipulated evidence, if somebody didn't invesitgate something that should have been investigated, if somebody twisted it to fit up up Megrahi, or Fimah or Libya, then that person will go to jail. I mean that sincerely , that person should be prosecuted for that.

    Former Lord Advocate Lord Fraser UK; Detective Constable of Strathclyde Police Thomas Gilchrist UK; Ex forensic scientist Dr. Thomas Hayes (RARDE), Ex forensic expert Allen Feraday (RARDE) UK; Ex FBI laboratory official Tom Thurman USA; former FBI Spezial Agent and Task Force Chief Richard Marquise USA, Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Henderson, Robert Müller (Ex-FBI, now Justice Department USA) and others should all be ashamed for their criminal and parasitic cover up of the Lockerbie tragedy.
    Many thanks to Regisseur Gideon Levy.
    Please see more well documented evidence by URL: www.lockerbie.ch

    by Edwin and Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Ltd., Switzerland

    2. ebol said...

    Dear Scottish Justiciary. This is a condemnable disgrace!

    What has been done and still is done to Mr. Abdelbaset al Megrahi, an innocent and terminally ill man, by the Scottish Justice is very hard to bear.

    What kind of a unhuman jurisdiction goes on in Scotland? An innocent man, serving a life sentence has finally succeeded to get a second appeal by the Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission (SCCRC) because of a possible miscarriage of justice based on six grounds. After a further deliberate delay his second appeal started on April 28, 2009 at the Appeal Court in Edinburgh. One day later, on April 29, 2009 a 'Prisoner Transfer Agreement' between Libya and the UK was ratified. To integrate Mr. Abdelbaset al Megrahi in the deal the Scottish justice added the dubious paragraph C at the end of the agreement:

    (c) the prisoner has consented to being transferred in accordance with those arrangements the relevant Minister shall issue a warrant providing for the transfer of the prisoner into or out of the United Kingdom.

    This provision requiring the prisoner's consent was removed in 2006, but it is abundantly clear that, irrespective of the wishes of the UK, Scottish and Libyan authorities, Megrahi cannot in fact be transferred back to Libya without his consent since he cannot be transferred without his current appeal being abandoned and no-one but Megrahi can instruct the abandonment of that appeal.

    Because of strong exonerating evidence in favour of Megrahi the Scottish Justice is in difficulties concerning several aspects of the appeal. By extorsively means Megrahi is tempted to accept a questionable deal and abandon his appeal for being tranfered back to his family in Libya. What An other great dishonor for the Scottisch justice system !!!

    The chances to win the appeal until May 22, 2009 by defence evidence are undeniable! Mr. Megrahi and Libya have nothing to do with the Lockerbie-Tragedy. Mr. Abdelbaset al Megrahi and Libya are intitled to get their honour back by a clear decision of the appeal court!

    Mr. Megrahi said: "This is the real way to clear my name before I go back to my homeland Libya." Mr. Al-Megrahi has consistently maintained his innocence and has vowed to stay in Scotland and win his freedom through the appeal courts.

    MEBO has already disposed of all the needed exonerating evidence to the Defence Team and the High Court. 

    by Edwin and Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Ltd. Switzerland, website: www.lockerbie.ch

    ReplyDelete
  2. After having analysed the documentary "Lockerbie revisited" by Gideon Levy and backed by my own investigations MEBO is convinced that the "Lockerbie conspiracy" to the damage of Libya and Abdelbaset al Megrahi was executed with tampered evidence under the Scottish flag by seven officials ! This could also be the reason for the long procrastination of the whole case in the hope that the criminal dealings of the seven officials fall under the status of limitations.

    by Edwin Bollier

    ReplyDelete