[The following are excerpts from an article published yesterday in The Times of Malta, before the announcement that Abdelbaset Megrahi had lodged a Minute of Abandonment of his appeal.]
The Libyan man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing could be freed on compassionate grounds next week, which means that his appeal, which will question the Maltese connection to the massacre, would be able to continue.
According to the BBC and Sky News, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who is the only person ever convicted for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, could be released next week from the Scottish prison where he is serving 27 years. (...)
Speaking to this newspaper, Robert Black, a former Scottish judge who was the architect of the original Lockerbie trial, welcomed the news.
"If it is indeed the case that Megrahi is to be granted compassionate release and returned to Libya before the beginning of Ramadan, I am delighted. I believe that he was wrongly convicted and should never have been in prison in the first place. But irrespective of his guilt or innocence, on simple humanitarian and compassionate grounds, he should be allowed to return to die in his homeland surrounded by his family and friends."
Professor Black was responsible for drawing up the framework for the trial, which was held in the Netherlands under Scottish law and which led to Mr al-Megrahi's conviction in 2001.
But he has consistently criticised the outcome, and also finds holes in the theory that the bomb left Malta.
He said, it would be a tragedy if some murky back-channel deal between the Scottish (or UK) Government has been entered into for the appeal to be abandoned in return for compassionate release being granted. "There are suggestions that this may be the case. I am, however, reluctant to believe that the Scottish (or UK) government could sink to such depths."
The ongoing appeal was ordered by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2007, after a four-year investigation that concluded Mr Al-Megrahi may have suffered a "miscarriage of justice".
The 57-year-old was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year.
His lawyer says it has spread to other parts of his body and is at an advanced stage, while his wife Aisha Megrahi told AFP earlier this year that he was "in danger of dying".
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ReplyDeleteAt the procedural hearing in Edinburgh's High Court on Tuesday 18 August 2009, will Megrahi's lawyers be required to certify that their client was not put under any pressure to abandon his appeal against conviction for the Lockerbie bombing?
ReplyDeleteI very much doubt it. A Minute of Abandonment has been lodged on his instructions. How and why his lawyers came to be given those instructions by their client is a confidential matter covered by legal professional privilege.
ReplyDeleteIsn't there a 'public interest' dimension to this appeal which overrides client confidentiality considerations?
ReplyDeleteCan the court refuse to accept the abandonment of an appeal referred to them by the SCCRC in 2007, upon an application made by Mr Megrahi in 2003?
MISSION LOCKERBIE:
ReplyDeleteBBC: Mr. Paul McBride QC one of Scotland's leading defence lawyers has accused the Scottish Government of treating the Lockerbie bomber like a Celebrity.
MEBO: Please, Mr McBride QC, Mr. Megrahi is more than a Celebrity ,he sits innocently till now, 10 years in scottish prisons as political victim !
Mr Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, "Lockerbie Victim" No. 271, is not the PanAm 103 Bomber, he is the largest Martyr of the Truth!
Some of the Scottish Officials are the true criminals in the Lockerbie Affair:
Ex forensic scientist Dr. Thomas Hayes (RARDE), Ex forensic expert Allen Feraday (RARDE) UK, and three persons known, of the Scottish police are protected but responsible for counterfeiting and manipulation of evidences in the Lockerbie-Affair! (Not involved at the PanAm 103 assassination attempt, only responsible for the conspiracy against Libya)
A new criminal investigation is overdue...
More information on: www.lockerbie.ch
by Edwin and Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Ltd., Switzerland
Patrick, I'm afraid public interest considerations don't override client confidentiality and privilege.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the case was referred back to the High Court of Justiciary by the SCCRC, the appeal is "owned" by Mr Megrahi. He is the appellant and he is the one to decide how the appeal will be conducted on his behalf and how far to proceed with it.
Thank you for this top-notch legal advice.
ReplyDeleteIs it then within the competence of the High Court of Justiciary to enquire of the appellant (in the nicest possible way) why the hell he wants to drop this hard-won second appeal against conviction for the Lockerbie bombing?
That certainly is within the court's competence -- but it has been announced in the Scottish Court Service's press release that Mr Megrahi will not be present in court. And I suspect that the court's relief at the disappearance of this hot potato will be such that, even if he had been, this question would have been avoided like the plague.
ReplyDelete