The grieving mum of a Lockerbie victim has launched a fresh attack on Kenny MacAskill - ahead of the freed bomber's birthday today.
Cancer-stricken Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi was released by the Justice Secretary last August after reports claimed he had just three months to live.
But Susan Cohen - who lost daughter Theo in the atrocity - claims the fact the killer is alive to celebrate turning 58 in Libya today proves he should have been kept in jail.
She said: "It's sickening. This shows it was a shocking decision to free him.
"This man will have a birthday party, but my daughter will never have another one.
"She only had 20 birthdays and he should have remained in jail."
The 72-year-old, of Cape May Court House in New Jersey, added: "It was obvious that he was not going to die. It was a big fraud. It had nothing to do with compassion.
"Where's the compassion for my daughter and the other people who died?
"Megrahi is a terrorist who murdered 270 people. There is no way he should have been let out."
[From a report in today's edition of The Sun.]
Well, if Dr. Swire can be accused of suffering "Stockholm syndrome," Mrs. Cohen could be diagnosed with some opposite disorder. I suspect that, instinctively, she knows her (our) government has lied to her, and is projecting her anger outwards, to anyone whose actions upset her (and others') comfortable certainty. It's not justice that matters here, but relentlessly preserving the appearance of it.
ReplyDeleteStarting at just after 1:00 pm today, the Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 discussed this topic and was focused mainly on the "scandal" of Mr Megrahi's compassionate release, with doctors, politicians and an irate audience sounding off as to why the "Lockerbie bomber" should still be alive after seven months.
ReplyDeleteHowever, at 1:34:00 of the 2-hour programme Jeremy announced there would be "one more comment from a different angle."
Peter Starr in Birmingham had telephoned to say: "Megrahi was not released due to his health. He was released because he is innocent and his appeal was going to show that. So the Scots Government released him to avoid the embarrassment of everyone knowing he was innocent all along."
Well said Peter: you're definitely a Starr!
Awesome, Patrick. Thanks for that tip, since I'd have missed it otherwise.
ReplyDeleteApril 1, huh? That would be a sick joke... Wikipedia confirms, April 1 1952. Okay then, happy birthday I guess, Mr. al Megrahi.
oo few comments lately, so don't mind if I do - copied from another post comments
ReplyDelete"Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live."
- Japanese spammer with good timing
There are quite a few people who had too few birthdays because of PA103. Let's quit blaming the patsies and find the real killers, what say?
Mission Lockerbie:
ReplyDeleteMr. Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi herzliche Gratulation zum 58. Geburtstag.
Wir wünschen Ihnen weiterhin gute Gesundheit und dass die offizielle Wahrheit über das PanAm 103 Attentat in-kürze aufgeklärt wird. Neue wichtige Tatsachen ergänzen und beweisen, dass Sie und Libyen mit der Lockerbie-Tragödie nichts zutun haben.
Mehr Information auf unserer Webpage: http://www.lockerbie.ch
by Edwin und Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Ltd. Switzerland
Mission Lockerbie:
(only a computer translation "Babylon", german/ english)
Mr. Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi cordial congratulation for your 58th birthday.
We wish you further good health and that the official truth about the PanAm 103 assassination attempt in-shortens is cleared up. New important facts supplement and prove that you and Libya with the Lockerbie-Tragedy have nothing to do.
More information on our Webpage: http://www.lockerbie.ch
by Edwin and Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Ltd. Switzerland
When anyone asks me about the Lockerbie case I give them a breif bibliography of books and articles to read, one of which is Susan Cohen's book Pan Am 103: The Bombing, the Betrayals, and a Bereaved Family's Search for Justice. I recommend the first few chapters in which Susan Cohen describes in truly moving detail how the death of her daughter destroyed her and the effect it has had on the rest of her life. Those of us who sometimes think of Lockerbie as a legal or political "case" need to read things like this to remind us of what it really means. Susan Cohen has changed from a liberal easy going children's author into an irrational bigot, bursting with a hatred which overwhelms her own considerable intelligence. Her venom and blind hatred towards Abdelbassett al-Megrahi are as shocking as they are misplaced.
ReplyDeleteIn your brief bibliography of books and articles on the Lockerbie case, Aku, does The Lockerbie Incident: A Detective's Tale by John Crawford figure by any chance?
ReplyDeleteThis is an extract from pages 88/89 of DC Crawford's book: We even went as far as consulting a very helpful lady librarian in Newcastle who contacted us with information she had on Bernt Carlsson. She provided much of the background on the political moves made by Carlsson on behalf of the United Nations. He had survived a previous attack on an aircraft he had been travelling on in Africa. It is unlikely that he was a target as the political scene in Southern Africa was moving inexorably towards its present state. No matter what happened to Carlsson after he had completed his mission in Namibia the political changes were already well in place and his demise would not have altered anything. This would have made a nonsense of any alleged assassination attempt on him as it would not have achieved anything. I discounted the theory as being almost totally beyond the realms of feasibility.
Is there anything else in the book worth reading?
Patrick. Yes, Crawford's book features in my bibliography. His book gives some personal accounts of the investigation in Malta and Crawford's (he claims) important role in collecting the vital evidence from around Lockerbie. He also gives a brief account of the (alleged) only time British police met Marwan Khreesat. Crawford himself comes across as a not very bright individual who is strongly inclined to believe whatever the offical line is and to dismiss anything which does not agree with the official line as fantasy. He is very rude, for example, about Dr Jim Swire. The book is completely devoid of notes, references, traceable sources or even an index. His acceptance of whatever he was told by the "lady" librarian at Newcastle is only typical of his lack of enthusiasm for hard evidence. It is no coincidence that the book is published by a "vanity" publisher.
ReplyDeleteCaustic Logic - and others. I'm putting this here rather than on the post it relates to, to avoid it being overlooked.
ReplyDeleteI've recently come across Karol Sikora's name in connection with entirely different matters, and I entirely retract my positive opinion of him. He has either changed a lot since my original assessment of him, or my assessment was mistaken, or (possibly) I have him confused with someone else.
His recent involvement in the tragic case of Lisa Norris suggests someone prepared to act as a "hired gun" expert witness, saying what the side who are paying him want him to say.
More disturbingly, there is David Colquhoun's recent blog post about university degrees in quack medicine.
So I no longer rely on Professor Sikora's word or opinion to substantiate anything. I still don't doubt that Megrahi has prostate cancer, but not on account of anything Karl Sikora says.
Rolfe,
ReplyDeleteMegrahi was released on the advice of just one doctor. And it wasn't
Professor Sikora, whose name came up a few days before Megrahi was released. I suspect Sikora's name is being used as a red herring to divert attention away from the fact that MacAskill relied on the prognosis of one unnamed doctor
Anyhow, whatever the circumstances surrounding Megrahi's release, whether it was improvised or not, I know he'd have had little choice in what transpired.
ReplyDeleteI would like to wish him a happy birthday and hope he has many, many more. Being a UK citizen I'd also like to apologise for his incarceration. I understand the suffering that he and his family had to endure. All those years being blamed for mass murder, having to live in an alien country in a high security prison and all the time being completely innocent.
And here we are in a country that is renowned for its democracy and rule of law and yet three respected judges made a decision, not based on justice but poltical expedience, to send an entirely innocent man to prison for what would have been the rest of his life.
According to a statement by the Scottish Government, Mr Megrahi was released on the advice of Dr Andrew Fraser, Director of Health and Medicine in the Scottish Prison Service (listen again to the Jeremy Vine programme, BBC Radio 2, 01 April 2010, 1:30:20).
ReplyDeleteThe Government statement made it quite clear that Dr Sikora had nothing to do with Mr Megrahi's release from prison on compassionate grounds.
Ruth, try not to be seduced or side-tracked by Rolfe or by Caustic Logic aka Adam Larson. They are major contributors to the occult JREF site and their overriding objective appears to be to deride and pin the label conspiracy theorist on anyone who doubts that Mr Megrahi and Libya were responsible for the Lockerbie disaster.
Regards,
Patrick Haseldine
Ruth, I wouldn't be surprised if Prof. Sikora in his "hired gun" capacity talked up the "three months to live" part.
ReplyDeleteThe appeal was scheduled to resume late last year, after all.
However, I remain very sceptical of any suggestion that the cancer itself could be fictitious.
Thanks Patrick for your advice.
ReplyDeleteI know other politically sensitive blogs and in particular Craig Murray's frequently get commentators who disrupt, divert etc. The only logic is that the intelligence services are at work.
Ruth, try not to be seduced or side-tracked by Rolfe or by Caustic Logic aka Adam Larson. They are major contributors to the occult JREF site and their are major contributors to the occult JREF site and their overriding objective appears to be to deride and pin the label conspiracy theorist on anyone who doubts that Mr Megrahi and Libya were responsible for the Lockerbie disaster.
ReplyDeleteDude.
lol!
In case you really haven't read any of the threads there, we've achieved the dumbfoundment of a community that prides itself on smashing "conspiracy theories." We've debunked a CT again, as JREF is famous for, but it's the governments' delusional theory this time and the rest of the forum is forced into a silent faith-based disagreement they can't even be bothered to articulate.
You are a wacky, backwards-talking cat, Mr. Haseldine. Cheers.
You are a wacky, backwards-talking cat, Mr Haseldine.
ReplyDeleteSurely Rolfe is the cat you're describing CLakaAL!
The release of Megrahi has all the telltale signs of a covert intelligence operation.
ReplyDeleteThanks Patrick for your advice.
ReplyDeleteI know other politically sensitive blogs and in particular Craig Murray's frequently get commentators who disrupt, divert etc. The only logic is that the intelligence services are at work.
Ruth, Patrick is delusional. The JREF forum is dedicated to critical thinking and the debunking of claims of the paranormal, pseudoscience etc. It's a good place to go for intelligent conversation.
They have a nice line in debunking 9/11 conspiracy theories, which is about on the level of shooting fish in a barrel I have to say, and some of them would like to approach Lockerbie with the same mindset. However, it's an excellent place to get some investigative discussion going because unlike a blog you can continue a thread as long as you like rather than see it buried by newer posts.
You should make up your own mind rather than listen to Mr. one-track-mind Haseldine.
Yes, Ruth, the operation was choreographed with a certain amount of intelligence.
ReplyDeleteOn 6 August 2009, the first step was the "Do not set 'guilty' Lockerbie bomber free" pas de deux by Richard Marquise and Stuart Henderson.
Then, after Mr Megrahi's release on 20 August, came the solo 'idiotic' performance by Robert S Mueller, former Assistant Attorney General and now FBI Director.
The character doing the pirouette is still spinning. Who can it be?
One tactic used by the intelligence services is to smear.
ReplyDeleteRolfe your statement:
'You should make up your own mind rather than listen to Mr. one-track-mind Haseldine.'
is highly misleading and I suspect it serves your agenda.
My conclusion that Megrahi's release was an undercover operation by the intelligence services does not rely on Patrick Haseldine. It relies on my experience of dealings with government agencies and other important factors.
One tactic used by the intelligence services is to smear.
ReplyDeleteRuth, can you possibly elaborate on your reason for pointing this out?
Oh, and Rolfe, thanks for the tips above about Sikora. Interesting...
I wonder what Ruth thinks my agenda is? I'm genuinely curious.
ReplyDeleteI found Dan and Susan Cohen's book Flight Pan Am 103 moving and very sad. (I haven't read Mr Crawford's book or Mr Marquise's). I thought Dan Cohen made some shrewd observations.
ReplyDeleteThe one aspect I thought inexplicable was how the Cohens differentiated between "the politicians" whom they mistrusted and villified while praisng Vincent Cannistraro of the CIA from whom they believed they were getting the true story.