Thursday 20 August 2009

Holyrood recall over freed bomber

The Scottish Parliament is to be recalled on Monday to discuss the controversial decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi has flown back to Libya after being released on compassionate grounds. (...)

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The justice secretary reached his decisions on the basis of due process, clear evidence, and recommendations from the parole board and prison governor.

"Mr MacAskill is entirely open and accountable to parliament, and now that he has made his statement will be pleased to answer any and all questions which MSPs have on this important matter."

Holyrood presiding officer Alex Fergusson announced the move to bring back MSPs from their summer break, days after turning down an earlier request from the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Fergusson said: "Following the announcement by the cabinet secretary for justice at 1pm today on the compassionate release of Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, I can confirm I have taken the decision to recall parliament at the earliest practicable opportunity."

The parliament will reconvene at 1430 BST on Monday when Mr MacAskill is expected to make a statement on his decision to release Megrahi.

He will then face questions on his handling of the case - and his ultimate decision - from MSPs.

[The above are excerpts from a report on the BBC News website.]

1 comment:

  1. Further Lockerbie Inquiry

    The Scottish parliament will reconvene at 1430 BST on Monday 24 August 2009 when Kenny MacAskill is to make a statement on his decision to release Mr Megrahi on compassionate grounds. Because of widespread concerns about the abandonment of Megrahi's appeal, MSPs are likely to demand a further inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing.

    On the day of Megrahi's release, Mr MacAskill said:

    "However, there remain concerns to some on the wider issues of the Lockerbie atrocity. This is a global issue, and international in its nature. The questions to be asked and answered are beyond the jurisdiction of Scots law and the restricted remit of the Scottish Government. If a further inquiry were felt to be appropriate then it should be initiated by those with the required power and authority. The Scottish Government would be happy to fully co-operate in such an inquiry."

    On 21 August 2009, Dr Hans Koechler, UN Observer at the Lockerbie trial, stated in relation to a public inquiry and the possible role of the United Nations:

    "As matters stand in Scotland, there may be no further criminal proceedings or investigations. However, establishing the truth about the midair explosion of an airliner and identifying the perpetrators is in the supreme public interest of any polity that is built on the rule of law. The legitimacy of any state is closely connected to a state’s willingness and ability to investigate and prosecute sine ira et studio each and every incident such as that which caused the death of 270 innocent people on the PanAm plane and in Lockerbie, Dr Koechler said. In an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera’s Felicity Barr, the former UN-appointed observer reiterated his call for a public inquiry to be mandated by the British House of Commons. He further explained that, absent a decision by the House of Commons, the United Nations General Assembly may consider establishing an international commission of inquiry into the Lockerbie incident on the basis of Article 22 of the UN Charter. Since the United Nations Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter, has decided on 12 September 2003 to remove the Lockerbie issue 'from the list of matters of which the Security Council is seized', the General Assembly would undoubtedly have authority to deal with the issue."

    It has been suggested that Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi might deputise for his father, Colonel Gaddafi, who is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2009. In his UN speech, Saif is expected to call for a United Nations Inquiry into Lockerbie along the lines of the following petition that closed on 29 December 2007 and which was addressed to PM Gordon Brown: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/UNInquiry/.

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