tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post6081025869724025388..comments2024-03-15T06:02:30.623+00:00Comments on The Lockerbie Case: Lockerbie, Megrahi and the Prisoner Transfer Agreement: a mysteryRobert Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03606456028430261555noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-65946947092600451492011-02-21T23:27:16.206+00:002011-02-21T23:27:16.206+00:00Rolfe said: As I recall, part of MacAskill's s...Rolfe said: <i>As I recall, part of MacAskill's speech when he announced Megrahi's release was that he had examined the legalities surrounding prisoner transfer and concluded that to grant that would be in breach of binding agreements.</i><br /><br />Just re-read the statement. IMO MacAskill is spinning for all he's worth here by giving the impression that he's considered the PTA application and rejected it on the high-minded principle that it would dishonour the agreement made by the UK government with the US - an agreement which, he points out, HMG was willing to break at the drop of a hat.<br /><br />The pachyderm in the room is the clause on 'finality of judgement', of which MacAskill was well aware. The Crown's appeal was still ongoing, and this, 'in itself, is a reason to refuse the transfer'(Legal advice to Mr MacAskill, 14/8/09).<br /><br />MacAskill was, of course, aware of the significance of that clause of the PTA throughout the process:<br /><br /><br /><i>Mr Alobidi stated that he has a signed undertaking from Mr Al-Megrahi that, if he were to be granted transfer, he would abandon his appeal.</i><br /><br /><i>Mr MacAskill spoke of the representations that have been presented to him by families of the victims and that they wish that the appeal to continue. Mr MacAskill confirmed that if, at the time of reaching a decision on the transfer application, the appeal is in progress, the conditions of the PTA will not have been met and he cannot agree to the application for transfer.</i><br />(Meeting with Libyan govt reps 6/7/2009)<br /><br /><br /><i>Mr MacAskill confirmed the conditions in the PTA, including the criterion on 'finality of judgement', and that when he makes his decision if any appeal is still outstanding he cannot agree to a transfer.</i><br /><br /><i>Mr MacAskill confirmed, in response to Mr Brian Flynn's question, that the Crown did have an outstanding appeal against sentence, and that there must be finality of judgement in all appeals for the conditions of transfer as laid out in the PTA to be met.</i> (Video conference with American relatives 9/7/2009)<br /><br /><br /><i>Mr MacAskill stated that is was necessary to highlight that when he makes his decision on prisoner transfer, he can only grant a transfer if there are no court proceedings ongoing. Mr MacAskill stressed that this was a decision for Mr Al-Megrahi and his legal team alone.<br /></i> (Meeting with Megrahi 6/8/2009)<br /><br />But no mention of it on 20th August, because that would make it clear that his hands had been tied all along. The refusal was the only decision he could make, and all that insistence to the Libyans and to Megrahi's team on the necessity of dropping his appeal was misleading, to say the least. MacAskill was happy enough to admit to Brian Flynn that the Crown had an effective veto on a transfer. He just didn't see fit to mention it to Megrahi, despite its enormous significance. Meh, as Rolfe would say.petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05831322202596781171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-6025085979255153922011-02-21T18:26:37.886+00:002011-02-21T18:26:37.886+00:00According to Sir Brian Barder's blog, Abdelbas...According to Sir Brian Barder's <a href="http://www.barder.com/3110#comment-98615" rel="nofollow">blog</a>, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is "reported to be close to death, finally, while all around him Libya is in flames".Patrick Haseldinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10133417620510887039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-60984808019102240352011-02-21T09:40:00.927+00:002011-02-21T09:40:00.927+00:00As I recall, part of MacAskill's speech when h...As I recall, part of MacAskill's speech when he announced Megrahi's release was that he had examined the legalities surrounding prisoner transfer and concluded that to grant that would be in breach of binding agreements.<br /><br />Which makes the whole charade of keeping the PTA application open even into an extended timescale and only announcing that it was a non--starter from the beginning once the compassionate release decision had been taken (and the appeal dropped) completely pointless. Unless of course the whole point of the exercise was to pretend to Megrahi that the PTA had some mileage, to induce him to drop the appeal.Rolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17849975010197698907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-23939374598366670932011-02-20T15:35:30.832+00:002011-02-20T15:35:30.832+00:00And obviously no one took into account the dramati...And obviously no one took into account the dramatic changes brought to the matter by Devolution.Jo Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536467440869239587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-876345704146875382011-02-20T13:09:41.124+00:002011-02-20T13:09:41.124+00:00My recollections, as soon as Megrahi and the PTA w...My recollections, as soon as Megrahi and the PTA were mentioned in the same breath, are that the UK government was told immediately, by Salmond, that it could not make decisions regarding Megrahi as it did not have the legal power to do so. Blair finally accepted this, as did Straw. (Eventually I believe even Kirsty Wark accepted this too.) <br /><br />I really don't know why all the additional stuff being written about this is necessary when so irrelevant almost. Why oh why do people not dump the subject of the release and concentrate on the questionable conviction? THAT is the real "hippopotamus" in the room.Jo Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536467440869239587noreply@blogger.com