Saturday 20 August 2011

Did secret report set Megrahi free?

[This is the headline over a double-page article (which does not feature on the newspaper's website) by Marcello Mega and Alan Roden on pages 14 and 15 of today's edition of the Scottish Daily Mail. Much of the content is similar to the article in today's issue of The Scottish Sun. The following are brief extracts from the Mail article:]

A devastating secret report that casts doubt on the Lockerbie bomber's guilt led to his early release from a Scottish jail, it was claimed last night.

Mass murderer Abdelbaset ... Al Megrahi was granted compassionate release to avoid the humiliation of a court overturning his conviction, according to critics.

These claims are today fuelled by leaked documents seen by the Scottish Daily Mail, which conclude 'no reasonable court' could have accepted some of the evidence that helped convict Megrahi. (...)

Finalised in 2007, the main report [by the SCCRC], which has never been released, runs to more than 800 pages with 13 volumes of appendices. (...)

But suspicion has persisted that Scottish authorities did not want the contents of the SCCRC findings made public.

Last night, veteran Scots Labour politician Tam Dalyell -- a former Father of the House of Commons --said: 'What was made clear to Megrahi was that by dropping [his appeal], it hugely enhanced his chance of returning to his family and the Tripoli sunshine.

'It was indicated to him -- by who I don't know, it may well have been Kenny MacAskill.'

Mr Dalyell, who believes Megrahi is innocent, added: 'Megrahi was desperate to get back [to Libya]. I went to see him in prison and I knew exactly what the situation was.' (...)

Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora on the flight, said last night: 'This underlines again the need for a full public inquiry.

'If the case against Megrahi was strong and compelling, there would have been no need to suppress evidence. It's time people listened to the facts. Megrahi did not do it -- and we need to know who did.'

Robert Forrester, chairman of the Justice for Megrahi group, said the case against the bomber amounted to 'assumption upon supposition upon thin air.'

2 comments:

  1. The fact that this innocent man has spent so many years in prison and is now dying a horrible death makes my skin boil, a lot of people know the truth about Lockerbie and it needs to be made public for the sanity of our society and our so called democracy.

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