[This is the headline over a report published this evening on the HeraldScotland website. It reads as follows:]
The Lord Advocate and
the relatives of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing have been refused
access to the latest interview with the man convicted of the atrocity.
Following the Reuters interview with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, he was accused of admitting his guilt for the first time by saying his name had been “exaggerated” by the West.
A number of Arabic translators have disagreed with this interpretation. In the midst of the row the Crown formally asked Dumfries and Galloway Police to obtain and translate the full Arabic interview.
Relatives have also asked for the recording but have been told they would require a court order. There are edited clips on the news organisation’s website. This is the first full interview with Megrahi since The Herald interviewed him in Tripoli two years ago.
Megrahi says he played no part in the tragedy which killed 270 people in 1988.
A Crown Office spokesman said: “We can confirm that Reuters have refused to provide a copy of the recent interview with Megrahi. We have instructed translation of the available footage meantime and are considering options in relation to the unreleased footage.”
A spokeswoman for Reuters said: “Reuters has been contacted by Dumfries and Galloway Police, but has not received a formal demand for any footage.
“We will review any such formal request if we receive one, although we would point out that Reuters footage from the interview with Abdelbaset al Megrahi and additional reporting are available for all to view on Reuters.com.
“As one of the world’s leading news organisations, Reuters takes integrity and accuracy of its news reporting very seriously and we stand by our coverage of the exclusive interview with Abdelbaset al Megrahi.”
Following the Reuters interview with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, he was accused of admitting his guilt for the first time by saying his name had been “exaggerated” by the West.
A number of Arabic translators have disagreed with this interpretation. In the midst of the row the Crown formally asked Dumfries and Galloway Police to obtain and translate the full Arabic interview.
Relatives have also asked for the recording but have been told they would require a court order. There are edited clips on the news organisation’s website. This is the first full interview with Megrahi since The Herald interviewed him in Tripoli two years ago.
Megrahi says he played no part in the tragedy which killed 270 people in 1988.
A Crown Office spokesman said: “We can confirm that Reuters have refused to provide a copy of the recent interview with Megrahi. We have instructed translation of the available footage meantime and are considering options in relation to the unreleased footage.”
A spokeswoman for Reuters said: “Reuters has been contacted by Dumfries and Galloway Police, but has not received a formal demand for any footage.
“We will review any such formal request if we receive one, although we would point out that Reuters footage from the interview with Abdelbaset al Megrahi and additional reporting are available for all to view on Reuters.com.
“As one of the world’s leading news organisations, Reuters takes integrity and accuracy of its news reporting very seriously and we stand by our coverage of the exclusive interview with Abdelbaset al Megrahi.”
Why, for God's sake don't we just ask an independent academic to translate the broadcast footage?? And what exactly are the police doing?
ReplyDeleteOn 3 October 2011, STV (Central Scotland's ITV franchise) released the full transcript (translated from the Arabic) of Reuters television interview with Abdelbaset al-Megrahi: http://news.stv.tv/scotland/273142-interview-with-lockerbie-bomber-full-transcript-megrahi-breaks-silence/.
ReplyDeleteOn 9 October 2011, I e-mailed the Crown Office Lockerbie Team (Lockerbie@scotland.gsi.gov.uk) asking them to pass STV's full transcript (translated from the Arabic) of the interview by Reuters television with Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to Dumfries & Galloway Police.
It is now high time for the Scottish Government and/or Parliament to weigh in, and tell both the Crown Office and the D & G Police to get their Lockerbie investigating fingers out!
The STV transcript is the translation provided by Reuters. It is the accuracy of that translation that is whole issue.
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