Sen Schumer wants Lockerbie bomber back in Scottish prison

Sen Charles Schumer said Thursday that the Pan Am Flight 103 bomber should be transferred back to a Scottish prison.

Schumer (D-NY) said the terminally ill Libyan bomber released last summer has lived longer than the three months upon which his release was contingent. (...)

“The bottom line is Megrahi should have never been released in the first place, but it would be even more outrageous if he were to be able to live a long and free life after his release,” Schumer said in a statement on Thursday.

Schumer asked British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in writing to transfer al-Megrahi back to the Scottish prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence. But it is unclear how Brown would dictate that Libya send al-Megrahi back to Scotland.

“The victims of Pan Am Flight 103 didn’t get a second chance at life and neither should Megrahi. Justice in this case was life in prison, no exceptions,” Schumer said in a statement. (...)

Al-Megrahi was checked into a local hospital in Tripoli upon his return to Libya, where he received a series of chemotherapy treatments.

Earlier this month, local media outlets reported that he had been released from the hospital and is living at his family’s villa with a police guard posted outside.

[From an article on the website of US Congressional affairs magazine The Hill. It is comforting -- or should that be distressing? -- to have this confirmation that idiocy is no bar to election to political office in the United States, as in the United Kingdom.

What follows is an excerpt from yesterday's US State Department press briefing given by spokesman Ian Kelly:]

QUESTION: All right. Okay. And lastly, tomorrow is the three-month anniversary of al-Megrahi’s release on compassionate grounds. And Senator Schumer has written a letter to Gordon Brown with a rather interesting suggestion that – or not suggestion, a demand that since the guy isn’t dead yet and they said that he only had three months to live, he should be returned to – immediately returned back to Britain to go to jail. Schumer said – he said in his statement from his office, which actually misspells Lockerbie, unfortunately – (laughter) – says that since --

MR. KELLY: Hey, can you release the text of that?

QUESTION: -- since he has outlived the term of his release, and there has been speculation about exaggerations of the severity of his condition, the British Government should seek his immediate transfer back to prison in Scotland. Do you share Senator Schumer’s belief that since he hasn’t died yet, he should be sent back?

MR. KELLY: Well, you know what our stance on this has been, is that we believed all along that Mr. Megrahi should have served out his sentence in Scotland.

QUESTION: Well, no, but now this is – this three-month thing, I’m just wondering if – would the U.S. Government join in with Senator Schumer in demanding that since he’s still alive, he should go back to prison?

MR. KELLY: Well, we’d be happy to get Senator Schumer’s points of view on this. I haven’t seen the letter, but I’d be happy to have discussions with him.

QUESTION: All right. I’ll give it to you.

MR. KELLY: Thank you.

[A report on the website of The Guardian on US relatives' reaction to Mr Megrahi's inconsiderate failure to die on schedule, can be read here.]