Lockerbie bomber Abdelbeset al-Megrahi is "a very sick man," but there is no way to tell how long he will live, according to the father of one of the people who died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the terror attack, saw al-Megrahi a week ago in Libya, he said Tuesday.
He also criticized U.S. senators who tried to hold hearings this summer into questions surrounding the release of al-Megrahi.
He said he had written to them to say it was more important to let Scottish legal proceedings run their course, since a review commission had found possible miscarriages of justice in the case.
"They didn't want to know about that," he said of the senators, saying they had not replied to his letter.
The Scottish government released al-Megrahi from prison just over a year ago on the grounds that he had cancer and was not likely to live more than three more months.
Swire, who does not believe that al-Megrahi is guilty, defended the decision.
"At three months, just over half [of people with his cancer] would be dead," Swire said.
But after three months, mortality rates level off, and there is no way to predict how long cancer sufferers will live, said Swire, a retired general practicioner.
"He can walk a few steps," Swire said of al-Megrahi.
He did not ask al-Megrahi or his doctors about the Libyan's medical condition out of respect for his privacy, he said.
But he said the fullness of his face suggested that he was on steroids to slow the cancer.
Al-Megrahi was appealing his conviction when he was freed on compassionate grounds in August 2009 and then dropped the appeal.
Swire thinks al-Megrahi feels guilty about having withdrawn his appeal, since it leaves him with no way to clear his name or for those -- like Swire -- who think he is innocent to have the case reviewed.
But al-Megrahi's death could change the legal playing field, Swire speculated.
"If he were to die, the the situation would change," and Swire might be able to get the case reopened, he said.
He believes that al-Megrahi "would see to it that we would be provided with all the information his defense team has assembled," he said, adding that the Libyan had not explicitly told him that.
Swire is in the minority among victims' families in thinking al-Megrahi is innocent.
American officials blasted al-Megrahi's release at the time and on the first anniversary.
[From a report just published on the CNN website, based on a televised interview with Dr Swire.]
But al-Megrahi's death could change the legal playing field, Swire speculated.
ReplyDelete"If he were to die, the the situation would change," and Swire might be able to get the case reopened, he said.
Why does Abdelbaset Megrahi need to die for his appeal to be resurrected: surely Mr Megrahi himself can start the ball rolling while he is still alive?
Megrahi needs to explain why he dropped the appeal. People including this blog author assume that Kenny was responsible for that but I see no evidence to support that. It's just an assumption. Megrahi can explain it & should.
ReplyDeleteI have never made any such assumption. I regard it as more likely that his own government influenced Megrahi to drop his appeal than that the Scottish Government did. But I have no evidence one way or the other. Megrahi will presumably explain his reasons in his forthcoming autobiography.
ReplyDeleteWould it be impolite to ask this man to Foulkes off?
ReplyDeleteI regard it as more likely that his own government influenced Megrahi to drop his appeal than that the Scottish Government did.
ReplyDeleteThis has also occurred to me, especially having studied the terms of the PTA - they're really quite startling, and it looks in a way like a vehicle to get that appeal dropped, with Libya's compliance or even at their instigation.
This might also explain why Megrahi, now in Libya, is saying so little about everything and stopped posting stuff on his web site some time ago.
I still can't quite figure what the motivation would be though.