[The following is an excerpt from a report in today's edition of The Scotsman. The judge in question, Lord Osborne, asked many penetrating questions during the course of the appeal and had the Crown struggling to provide answers. Regrettably, the restricted compass within which Megrahi's then legal team chose to present the appeal meant that the court could not give effect to the weighty concerns raised by Lord Osborne and his colleague Lord Kirkwood.]
His 21 years' service far exceeds most of the sentences he ever passed as a trial judge in the High Court, while in the last ten years he had become a fixture in the appeal divisions of the Court of Session and the High Court. He might never have attained the title of Lord President or Lord Justice Clerk, the country's most senior judicial positions, but he was often relied on to preside over an appeal court.
Lord Osborne was part of many historic rulings, with none more important, perhaps, than the decision to reject the first appeal by Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi at the Scottish court in the Netherlands.
His style on the bench was very individualistic. Many judges sit, poker-faced, absorbing the arguments and making the odd note as they wrestle, mentally, with the point at issue. Lord Osborne was one to debate, question, challenge and test the arguments of counsel on both sides, and would slump back with a face of tortured contortion as he tried to work out which way, in his opinion, the law lay.
And it was always in his opinion. He was never one to go with the flow for the sake of it. He showed he could be of fiercely independent mind (...)
Lord Osborne was part of many historic rulings, with none more important, perhaps, than the decision to reject the first appeal by Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi at the Scottish court in the Netherlands.
His style on the bench was very individualistic. Many judges sit, poker-faced, absorbing the arguments and making the odd note as they wrestle, mentally, with the point at issue. Lord Osborne was one to debate, question, challenge and test the arguments of counsel on both sides, and would slump back with a face of tortured contortion as he tried to work out which way, in his opinion, the law lay.
And it was always in his opinion. He was never one to go with the flow for the sake of it. He showed he could be of fiercely independent mind (...)
MISSION LOCKERBIE, doc. nr. 1394.rtf.
ReplyDeleteThoughtfully: out of the "Pandora Box" of ex Special Agent Richard Marquise, led the U.S. Task Force which included the FBI and Central Intelligence Ageny (CIA) in the Lockerbie Case...
Dokument USA, nr. HZ-438.vsk (sig):
°°°° Bollier was in financial difficulty and might be willing to take risks to solve his money problem. Bollier was not controllable and swiss Commissar. Hans Knaus was reluctant to make him a double agent to work against the Libyan government. Knaus said, he is a risk to all of us. Knaus wondered if Bollier could be convinced to have Megrahi meet him in Tunesia but noted that if we were not there to control him, it would be difficult to know what Megrahi said.
Knaus was of the opinion Bollier would offer to do an undercover operational role so further the interests of the investigation. He reiterated his concern that Bollier would be killed and the blame would come back to law enforcement.
Knaus wanted to make it clear to Meister and Bollier if they did anything unilaterally with Libyan officials, no one was encouraging them to do it.
The Swiss wanted guidance in the event any of the people we were looking at came to Switzerland, including Megrahi. Nothing could be done at this time because no one is prepared to issue arrest warrants. No one could predigt when or if that would be done. Knaus provided with the circuit boards which Bollier had turned over to them so these could be given to Henderson along with the Togo timer. end doc. °°°°
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1991: After further interviews through FBI-Officials and officers of the Scottish Police in Zurich and after Bollier's visites in 1991 at the FBI in Washington and at the Scottish Police in Glasgow he understood clearly: The allegedly found MST-13 timer fragment in Lockerbie was a manipulated piece of evidence with the intention to link the state of Libya with the Lockerbie-atrocity.
In 1991 Bollier was invited to the FBI Headquarter in Wahington and Commissioner Richard Marquise offered him up to US$ 4 million and a new identity in the States if he would confirm in a police statement that the allegedly found MST-13 timer fragment originated from one of the 20 timers delivered to Libya between 1985 und 1986.
Now there was no more doubt for Bollier that a huge conspiracy against the Gadhafi-Regime in Libya was on the way...
Contrary to the Libyan crown witness against Libya, Abdul Jiacha, - an agent in the sold of the CIA – Bollier rejected the offer. Jiacha is currently living in the USA under a new identity...
by Edwin Bollier, MEBO Ltd. Switzerland. URL: www.lockerbie.ch