Apart from representatives of the Justice for Megrahi campaign
group, those scheduled to give evidence are Sir Gerald Gordon QC (the member of
the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission who was in charge of the investigation
into the Megrahi conviction), Mr James Chalmers of the University of Edinburgh School of Law and two representatives from the
Information Commissioner’s Office.
A press release
issued by Justice for Megrahi contains
the following:
10.00 hrs Dr Jim Swire, Len Murray, Robert
Forrester and Iain McKie all members of the JFM committee give evidence to the
Justice Committee.
11.00 hrs Dr Swire and the above available for
interview/photographs.
BACKGROUND TO EVIDENCE
Justice
for Megrahi argue that the Criminal Cases (Punishment and Review) (Scotland) Bill instead
of making the publication of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission’s
(SCCRC) report, which concluded a miscarriage of justice
may have befallen Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, easier in reality effectively blocks
such a release. In its submission the committee state:
“A
cynic might suspect that Part 2 of the Bill has been deliberately designed to
ensure that no useful disclosure of SCCRC material is possible under its
terms…….Whether or not that is its purpose that is its effect.”
“It
is submitted that the Justice Committee should recommend to the Scottish
Government that, if it genuinely wishes to see meaningful disclosure of SCCRC
material in the Megrahi case, it should (a) reconsider the possibility of
proceeding by statutory instrument and (b) formulate a scheme which, unlike the
one set out in the Bill, is designed to achieve rather than impede this
objective.”
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