Megrahi at rally broadcast by Libyan state television

[What follows is from a report on the BBC News website:]

The man convicted of blowing up a plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988 has appeared at a rally broadcast by Libyan state television.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland almost two years ago on health grounds.

Introducing him at a televised rally of members of Megrahi's tribe, the presenter said his conviction was the result of a conspiracy.

He said his release had been a victory against oppression. (...)

Megrahi returned to Libya where has rarely been seen.

During the broadcast from Tripoli, which was described as live, Megrahi was seen in a wheelchair.

After playing the national anthem, a presenter said "half of the world conspired against" Megrahi.

[In a comment on this blog, Rolfe wrote:

"I saw Megrahi on TV about an hour ago. It was a clip from a pro-Gadaffi rally in Tripoli, and he was sitting in a wheelchair watching the proceedings. He was wearing a large white head-dress, like a big turban. He didn't look too bad, from what I could see, though it was a short clip and not close-up.

"No doubt this will enrage the Americans even further."

A friend in Scotland e-mailed me this:

"Reporting Scotland had on, right at the very end, saying they had just got the video in, a brief (10-ish seconds) video of Megrahi in a wheelchair supposedly at a pro-government rally in Libya. There was some Arabic title underneath and the date as 2011-07-26.

"He was looking appropriately frail. Either coughing or lifting an oxygen mask to his face – couldn’t make out exactly. The wheelchair was itself on a dais, alongside other spectators of whatever was going on (which they didn’t show)."

A report on The Herald website can be read here, one on The Guardian website can be read here, and one on the CNN website can be read here. The report on The Telegraph website contains the following:]

The pictures compounded embarassment in the Scottish Executive which appears to have seized on a misdiagnosis to grant parole on medical grounds in 2009.

He was expected to live less that 90 days but has since passed more than 400 days in his native Libya.