Jack Straw became the first British minister to raise questions about the handling of the release of the Lockerbie bomber yesterday.
The Justice Secretary suggested that he would not have visited Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi in jail, in contrast to Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Minister, who saw him shortly before announcing his decision to release him on compassionate grounds.
Mr Straw said: “That was his decision. If you are asking me if I have ever visited a prisoner in jail who has applied for compassionate release, the answer to that is no.”
He reiterated that last Thursday’s decision to release al-Megrahi, who has prostate cancer, was a matter for the Scottish government. Britain’s relationship with Libya has come under scrutiny amid rumours of trade deals being attached to the prisoner’s fate. Three ministers have made trips to Libya in the past 12 months. (...)
John Prescott, the former Deputy Prime Minister, yesterday became the first senior Labour figure to back the decision to free the Lockerbie bomber.
He told Sky News: “If the man is dying, if compassion is passed as it is in the Scottish administration, and the medical authorities then gave proof to that effect as they did, then it’s a decision for their legal authority.”
[The above is from an article in the edition of The Times for 27 August.
It would have been open to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill, to stipulate that the only representations from interested persons that he would consider in making his decision on repatriation would be representations in writing. But once he had decided to allow representations to be made in face-to-face meetings or by video link, he could not properly deny this facility to the prisoner himself. Had he done so, any decision reached could have been legally challenged on the ground of procedural unfairness. If Jack Straw, the UK Justice Secretary, does not understand this, he is in the wrong job.]
I am concerned about the visit. There were 2 applications before Mr MacAskill at the time of the meeting with Mr Megrahi. The compassionate release application was live - and no other applicant in those circumstances would have a face to face meeting. I would have thought that given the compassionate release application was live this risked irrelevant considerations tainting that decision (or setting a precedent for future cases) - given that Art 3 of the Prisoner Transfer agreement precluded the possibility of transfer under tis terms given the outstanding appeals.
ReplyDelete(I should add that I think Mr MacAskill was right in his decision to release, and my family in Lockerbie on the night of the disaster agree with the release too)
MISSION LOCKERBIE:
ReplyDeleteAfter control, strong proof, also this circumstantial evidence was a scottish manipulation!
Mr. Abdelbaset al Megrahi was not in Malta on Wednesday, 23th of November 1988, thus Mr. Megrahi is definetely not the buyer of the dresses ! He was not the "Lockerbie-Bomber"! Everything was manipulatet!
Since August 1990, definitely a wrong date was created (7th of December, 1988) in order to accuse deliberately the libyan official Mr. Abdelbaset al Megrahi as the buyer of the cloths in "Mary's House".
A further proof from MEBO that the sale of dresses in Anhony Gauci "Mary's House" took undoubtedly place on Wednesday, 23th of November 1988 by a unknown buyer:
Tony Gauci told Bollier on 25.1. 2008 in Malta, that the 2 pieces of pyjamas, label "John Mallia", were the last two pyjamas he had sold to a Libyan in his shop. On the other day, the 24th of November 1988, Gauci by phon ordered at the company "John Mallia" additionally 8 pieces of the same pyjamas. The 8 pyjamas were delivered on the 25th of November 1988 with the calculation/delivery note, dated 25th of November 1988 to Gauci' s Mary' s House at Sliema Malta. Prod. 477-1.
The day after Wednesday, December 7, December 8, 1988 was an official public holiday (Immaculate Conception Day) and the "John
Mallia" company was closed.
But the day after November 23, November 24, 1988 was not an official public holiday, the company "John Mallia" was open.
Court at Kamp van Zeist, Excerpt:
+++
MR. CAMPBELL: The next witness is 606, Paul Mallia. THE MACER: Paul Mallia, Your Lordship. WITNESS: PAUL MALLIA, sworn EXAMINATION IN CHIEF BY MR. CAMPBELL:
Q -- Mr. Mallia, what is your full name? A --Paul Mallia.
Q --And your address? A --It's 4 Marina Court, Sliema Road, Malta.
Q --What is the name of the company? A --It's John N. Mallia & Son Limited.
Q --Would you look, please, at Label 445. Do you see that the bag contains a pair of pyjamas? A--These are the pyjamas we used to
manufacture back in that time. Q--Could we have on the screen, please, Production 181, photograph 134. You see there a photograph of a pair of pyjamas. Can you confirm, first of all, that that's a photograph of the pyjamas that you have physically in front of you? A--Yes, it is.
continuation >>>
>>> continuation
ReplyDeleteQ--Are you familiar with a shop called Mary's House in Tower Road, Sliema? A--Yes. He is one of our clients. Q--Did you supply that shop with goods? A--Yes, we do. Q--Would you look, please, at Production 501. Focus in on the label at the top of the page, please. We see that that label describes what we are about to look at as an invoice.
If we move on, please, to the next image, image 1. Do we there see a carbon-copy invoice from your records, John N. Mallia & Son Limited? A--Yes. Q--And do we see that it's dated 31st October 1988? A--Yes, that's correct. Q--And it's to Mary's House? A--Yes.
Q--In Sliema. And do we see that included in the order is a
quantity of 16 men's pyjamas? A--Yes.
Q--If you can close that, please, and look now at Production 500. Do we see that this label tells us that this, too, is a receipt. And if -- an invoice, I'm sorry. And if we move to image 1, we again see
that this is a carbon copy invoice from your records.
Is this one dated the 25th of November 1988? **
A--Yes, that's correct. Q--And again, is it to Mary's House in
Sliema? A--Yes.
Q--And in this case the item -- the items in it is a quantity of eight men's pyjamas? A--Yes.
** (MEBO: This order made by Gauci on 24th of November 1988, by telephone the. The supply was the other day, 25th of November)
Excerpt: described by Gauci.
Question: Q--And if we can have
Production 4771, do we see that that's a similar invoice to your shop from John Mallia dated 25th November 1988 for eight pairs of pyjamas?
Answer: A--Yes. I used to buy stock, and when it finished, I used to buy -- I used to phone often. It's an item that is quite sold in winter.
+++
more information on: www.lockerbie.ch
by Edwin and Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO LTD, Switzerland