[I am deeply grateful to Peter Biddulph for allowing me to post the following response written by him to Richard Marquise's recent broadcast and print contributions to Lockerbie lore.]
1. It would appear that Mr Marquise never handled the fragment [of circuit board allegedly from the MST-13 timer that allegedly detonated the bomb], never saw the fragment. All his forensic information appears to have come from Thomas Thurman, proven to be a manipulator of prosecution reports by the US Department of Justice in 36 out of the 52 Thurman cases that they investigated.
And yet Thurman too never saw the fragment or handled it. When challenged by journalists, he admitted that he had worked solely on photographs supplied by the Scottish police and Thomas Hayes. And the evidence he gave on US TV about identifying the fragment was given as a voice-over using photographs of a sample from the CIA's own laboratory in Langley, Virginia.
Thurman, by resigning and "leaving" the employ of the FBI avoided being a witness at the trial, and his claims and record regarding the fragment were never tested in court. All references to Thurman in the trial transcript took "a priori" that he was on the team who found the fragment that proved Libya did it. His questionable history was never challenged by the defence. Were they negligent?
2. Mr Marquise's senior FBI colleague Oliver Revell never saw the fragment, never handled the fragment. In a televised discussion in 1995 on UK Channel Four TV he claimed :
". . . And we were operating on the premise that [Iran] was the responsible party. But we simply could not bring to bear all of the information we had, and the evidence, and make it fit. And then when the item – the microchip – was found and was identified – and by the way it was through both RARDE and Tom Thurman of the FBI laboratory – independently – that we found the other connection, and then we started working on that." (My italics).
So, whatever might be said by the FBI now, their case in 1991 centred entirely upon the provenance of the fragment of the bomb said to have been found in July 1989 by Dr Thomas Hayes. Should Hayes' evidence be in any way suspect, the case would collapse.
Mr Marquise has claimed elsewhere that the retirement of the CIA's Vincent Cannistraro took place before the key evidence was found. He has said that to for us to say otherwise is wrong.
Well, it's not wrong. Cannistraro was busy as head of the Lockerbie team when Hayes claimed to have found the fragment. Cannistraro retired a year and a half later, in November 1990.
3. The chief identification witness, Tony Gauci, was exposed in 2005 by the very man who - in 1991 - helped with the indictments against Megrahi and Fhimah, former Lord Advocate Peter Fraser. In Fraser's own words, Gauci could not be trusted.
And now a Mr Clancy [Ronnie Clancy QC] of the Scottish Crown team has conceded in a recent Scottish High Court hearing in Edinburgh that even if Gauci's evidence is discredited, it would not significantly affect the prosecution case. A strange claim and admission indeed. Are they already conceding the case in total? [RB: What Mr Clancy said was that the Crown’s view was that there was sufficient evidence to justify Megrahi’s conviction even if Gauci’s evidence were discounted.]
4. Marquise's information regarding the British forensic tracing of the fragment came from Dr Thomas Hayes.
At the time of the trial, Hayes' record in the case of the IRA Maguire Seven (Guildford bombing) was never discussed in court. All that the judges heard was an oblique reference to "deliberate falsehoods" told by his former colleague and supervisor Dr Higgs in another IRA case, that of Judith Ward.
Since Hayes had not been part of that particular Higgs episode, he could - and did - deny all connection or knowledge of that particular Higgs conspiracy. The trial then moved on without further comment or question.
And yet Hayes was central to a Higgs conspiracy in another IRA trial, that of the Maguire Seven, in which the Hayes and Higgs were proved by Parliamentary investigation to have conspired to with-hold evidence that might assist the defence case.
But since the Maguire Seven story was not rehearsed in the Lockerbie trial, none of this could be considered by the Lockerbie judges.
I believe that if Hayes' history in the case of the Maguire Seven had been examined in court, his testimony in the case of Lockerbie would have been discredited in the same way as that of Majid Giaka, the double CIA and Libyan agent.
In his book Scotbom, and since, Mr Marquise gives the impression that American investigation was led and controlled by the FBI. In fact it was controlled overall by the CIA, and by certain people with much blood and lies on their hands. Among the White House team around that time were people proven by declassified documents to understand well the technique of the manufacture of evidence to destabilise Middle Eastern governments. These documents are now freely available. But nobody - including the media in both countries - seems to care any more. It's old news, unwelcome news. People die, so what? Life must go on etc.
All of this, naturally, never came to the attention of the Lockerbie judges. Hopefully the second appeal will offer a long overdue opportunity for the true back-story of Lockerbie to emerge.
If Mr Marquise wishes to challenge any of the above, I will gladly supply the document dates and references with appropriate quotations. I will also arrange for sections of the film and television records to be put on the web. And I will ensure that relevant sections of the trial transcript are also put on the web. People can then judge for themselves where this story might go over the next six months.
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
A Lockerbie-style solution to Gitmo?
The Exploring International Law blog hosted by Georgetown University has an interesting contribution from Dr Catherine Lotrionte* on the possible relevance of the Lockerbie model of judicial tribunal to cover the situation that will arise when President-Elect Obama closes the detention facility at Guantanamo, as he has pledged to do.
Dr Lotrionte writes:
“One option that has been overlooked is trying these prisoners at The Hague in a hybrid international/domestic court. (…)
“The precedent for such trials is Lockerbie. In April 1999, under diplomatic pressure from the U.S. and UN-imposed sanctions, the Libyan government handed over two intelligence officers to Scottish police in the Netherlands to stand trial for the murder of civilians killed when Pan Am 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Through an agreement between the U.S., the U.K. and Libya**, the Libyans were transferred into Scottish custody to stand trial before a Scottish Court made up of three Scottish judges using Scottish law. The Dutch provided the premises to the Scottish and all expenses related to the trial were paid by the United Kingdom. At the trials international observers from the UN were present as well as representatives from other states, lending the already transparent process further credibility and favorable world opinion. The U.S. government also supported the trials, providing Scottish prosecutors with intelligence that was used as evidence in the trials. On January 31, 2001, one defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years minimum in prison in Scotland. The second defendant was found not guilty and sent back to Libya.”
*"Dr. Catherine Lotrionte is a visiting assistant professor and the Associate Director of the Institute for International Law & Politics at Georgetown University. She previously worked as an assistant general counsel at CIA and as the general counsel for the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board at the White House (2002-2006)."
**Note by RB: There was no such agreement. The United Kingdom (with the concurrence of the United States) put forward a scheme on 24 August 1998. Libya was not consulted or involved in its formulation, though the Libyan Government, and the legal team representing the two Libyan suspects, had earlier (four years and seven months earlier) approved of a neutral venue, non-jury, proposal formulated by me.
Dr Lotrionte writes:
“One option that has been overlooked is trying these prisoners at The Hague in a hybrid international/domestic court. (…)
“The precedent for such trials is Lockerbie. In April 1999, under diplomatic pressure from the U.S. and UN-imposed sanctions, the Libyan government handed over two intelligence officers to Scottish police in the Netherlands to stand trial for the murder of civilians killed when Pan Am 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Through an agreement between the U.S., the U.K. and Libya**, the Libyans were transferred into Scottish custody to stand trial before a Scottish Court made up of three Scottish judges using Scottish law. The Dutch provided the premises to the Scottish and all expenses related to the trial were paid by the United Kingdom. At the trials international observers from the UN were present as well as representatives from other states, lending the already transparent process further credibility and favorable world opinion. The U.S. government also supported the trials, providing Scottish prosecutors with intelligence that was used as evidence in the trials. On January 31, 2001, one defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years minimum in prison in Scotland. The second defendant was found not guilty and sent back to Libya.”
*"Dr. Catherine Lotrionte is a visiting assistant professor and the Associate Director of the Institute for International Law & Politics at Georgetown University. She previously worked as an assistant general counsel at CIA and as the general counsel for the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board at the White House (2002-2006)."
**Note by RB: There was no such agreement. The United Kingdom (with the concurrence of the United States) put forward a scheme on 24 August 1998. Libya was not consulted or involved in its formulation, though the Libyan Government, and the legal team representing the two Libyan suspects, had earlier (four years and seven months earlier) approved of a neutral venue, non-jury, proposal formulated by me.
Monday, 15 December 2008
Syracuse and Lockerbie Academy remember
News10Now, a television news channel based in Syracuse NY, is running a series of programmes to mark the twentieth anniversary of the destruction of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie. Of those who died in the aircraft, thirty-five were Syracuse University students returning to the United States from a semester of study abroad. The programmes are accompanied by articles on the channel’s website by Bill Carey, senior reporter. The first of those articles, entitled “Terror and Tears, Part I, Homecoming” can be accessed here.
The Guardian publishes a very interesting article by Ellie Levenson. It is headed "When tragedy becomes history" and sub-headed "Twenty years after the Lockerbie bombing, how does the local school teach pupils about its painful past?"
The Guardian publishes a very interesting article by Ellie Levenson. It is headed "When tragedy becomes history" and sub-headed "Twenty years after the Lockerbie bombing, how does the local school teach pupils about its painful past?"
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Richard Marquise in The Sunday Times
Megrahi’s tale is a tissue of lies
The FBI agent who investigated Lockerbie says those who want the Libyan freed are mistaken
So run the heading and sub-heading over an article by retired FBI agent Richard Marquise in today's edition of The Sunday Times. It rehearses the evidence that led to Abdelbaset Megrahi's conviction by the Scottish Court at Zeist in January 2001. For an analysis of the flaws in that evidence (which have, of course, been recognised by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission), see my article "Lockerbie: a satisfactory process but a flawed result".
Those with a vested interest in defending Megrahi's conviction seem to be getting worried. And so they should be.
The FBI agent who investigated Lockerbie says those who want the Libyan freed are mistaken
So run the heading and sub-heading over an article by retired FBI agent Richard Marquise in today's edition of The Sunday Times. It rehearses the evidence that led to Abdelbaset Megrahi's conviction by the Scottish Court at Zeist in January 2001. For an analysis of the flaws in that evidence (which have, of course, been recognised by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission), see my article "Lockerbie: a satisfactory process but a flawed result".
Those with a vested interest in defending Megrahi's conviction seem to be getting worried. And so they should be.
David Welch on US-Libya breakthrough
The Lebanese newspaper Dar Al Hayat publishes an interview with US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, David Welch. Among the questions posed is:
'You personally mediated the agreement between Libya and Washington on Lockerbie case, among other issues. How did you reach the breakthrough?'
And here is Mr Welch's answer:
'There have been attempts from several American administrations to move Libya out of the game of terrorism into a more responsible behavior and away from weapons of mass destruction. And only because Libya decided to do this, it offers an alternative role model. As Americans, we took some steps too, you know my country, sometimes it is hard for Americans to close the book, and we cannot forget that Americans died, and Libyans died. Today, we have turned the page and it is very important to remove a country from terrorism list when it has done the things expected from it. In the next five years we will see dramatic changes in the policy, as Secretary Rice says there is no "hole in the policy" going from here.'
It was playwright George Bernard Shaw who claimed that "England and America are two countries divided by a common language." But in this instance Americans too might find it difficult to fathom Mr Welch's meaning.
'You personally mediated the agreement between Libya and Washington on Lockerbie case, among other issues. How did you reach the breakthrough?'
And here is Mr Welch's answer:
'There have been attempts from several American administrations to move Libya out of the game of terrorism into a more responsible behavior and away from weapons of mass destruction. And only because Libya decided to do this, it offers an alternative role model. As Americans, we took some steps too, you know my country, sometimes it is hard for Americans to close the book, and we cannot forget that Americans died, and Libyans died. Today, we have turned the page and it is very important to remove a country from terrorism list when it has done the things expected from it. In the next five years we will see dramatic changes in the policy, as Secretary Rice says there is no "hole in the policy" going from here.'
It was playwright George Bernard Shaw who claimed that "England and America are two countries divided by a common language." But in this instance Americans too might find it difficult to fathom Mr Welch's meaning.
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Scottish newspapers on Megrahi campaign launch
The Scottish "heavy" daily newspapers have good coverage of yesterday's launch of the Justice for Megrahi campaign.
The Scotsman concentrates on the experiences of the parish priest of Lockerbie at the time of the disaster, Father Pat Keegans. The report reads in part:
'Father Patrick Keegan, 62, said he believed Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who has prostate cancer, was innocent and should be freed on compassionate grounds before an appeal against his conviction.
'"I wrote to Mr Megrahi offering him my support, telling him that I was convinced he was innocent, and that I would willingly offer support to him and his family," said Fr Keegan, who was living in Lockerbie at the time of the bombing, just yards from where a wing section of the Pan Am flight crashed in 1988.
'Describing the Libyan and his family as "victims" of the bombing, Fr Keegan said he believed there had been a mellowing of opinion, even among those previously convinced of his guilt.'
The comments from members of the public that follow the story are also well worth reading.
Lucy Adams in The Herald has an article headed "Priest claims police interference in aftermath of Lockerbie bomb". It reads in part:
'As the Justice For Megrahi campaign was launched yesterday, Father Patrick Keegan, the priest in Lockerbie at the time, revealed that he had been visited by police during the inquiry and asked to keep to the official line - that Libya was responsible. (...)
'"I really became convinced of his innocence when the whole thrust of the case shifted from Syria and Iran to Libya alone. Interference in my own life by the investigation team convinced me.
'"A police officer asked to come along and speak to me. I listened to him for quite a while and then I said: Have you come here to ask me to be silent? He said that the point was that when you speak people listen and we would appreciate it if you could follow our line of Libya alone.
'"I complained to the Lord Advocate about it at the time and got a very bland response. The very fact that they interfered and took the trouble to come to talk to me made up my mind that I was on the right track. Other people had similar experiences."'
[Note to editors: the gentleman's name is Father Patrick Keegans.
The Press and Journal has a good account by Joe Quinn. The BBC News website's report of the launch can be read here.]
The Scotsman concentrates on the experiences of the parish priest of Lockerbie at the time of the disaster, Father Pat Keegans. The report reads in part:
'Father Patrick Keegan, 62, said he believed Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who has prostate cancer, was innocent and should be freed on compassionate grounds before an appeal against his conviction.
'"I wrote to Mr Megrahi offering him my support, telling him that I was convinced he was innocent, and that I would willingly offer support to him and his family," said Fr Keegan, who was living in Lockerbie at the time of the bombing, just yards from where a wing section of the Pan Am flight crashed in 1988.
'Describing the Libyan and his family as "victims" of the bombing, Fr Keegan said he believed there had been a mellowing of opinion, even among those previously convinced of his guilt.'
The comments from members of the public that follow the story are also well worth reading.
Lucy Adams in The Herald has an article headed "Priest claims police interference in aftermath of Lockerbie bomb". It reads in part:
'As the Justice For Megrahi campaign was launched yesterday, Father Patrick Keegan, the priest in Lockerbie at the time, revealed that he had been visited by police during the inquiry and asked to keep to the official line - that Libya was responsible. (...)
'"I really became convinced of his innocence when the whole thrust of the case shifted from Syria and Iran to Libya alone. Interference in my own life by the investigation team convinced me.
'"A police officer asked to come along and speak to me. I listened to him for quite a while and then I said: Have you come here to ask me to be silent? He said that the point was that when you speak people listen and we would appreciate it if you could follow our line of Libya alone.
'"I complained to the Lord Advocate about it at the time and got a very bland response. The very fact that they interfered and took the trouble to come to talk to me made up my mind that I was on the right track. Other people had similar experiences."'
[Note to editors: the gentleman's name is Father Patrick Keegans.
The Press and Journal has a good account by Joe Quinn. The BBC News website's report of the launch can be read here.]
Friday, 12 December 2008
Priest who witnessed aftermath of Lockerbie backs Megrahi release
A Roman Catholic priest who witnessed the aftermath of the Lockerbie bombing today called for the release of the man convicted for it.
Father Patrick Keegans said Libyan national Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was innocent of the crime and also deserved release on compassionate grounds. (...)
Fr Keegans told a Glasgow press conference: "I'm here today because of my conscience."
He said he had not so far sought publicity but had been moved this week by newspaper accounts of Megrahi's wife and family.
They are staying in Glasgow in order to be able to visit him in prison.
"My conscience has moved so much over the past two days that I wrote to Mr Megrahi offering him my support, telling him that I was convinced he is innocent and that I would willingly offer support to him and his family," said the priest.
Fr Keegans said that that view put him at odds with friends in the US - many of whom were "convinced" of the Libyan's guilt.
"If I was convinced of Mr Megrahi's guilt, I would not be here today," he said.
"I'm here today because of his human plight, I'm here because I believe Scotland is a compassionate and a fair country.
"I also believe that justice for Mr Megrahi will equal justice for the families because the full truth of Lockerbie has never been revealed."
Fr Keegans, who now lives in Ayr, was a priest in Lockerbie at the time of the bombing.
[From The Herald's report of today's press conference to mark the launch of the Justice for Megrahi campaign. The full report can be read here.]
Father Patrick Keegans said Libyan national Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was innocent of the crime and also deserved release on compassionate grounds. (...)
Fr Keegans told a Glasgow press conference: "I'm here today because of my conscience."
He said he had not so far sought publicity but had been moved this week by newspaper accounts of Megrahi's wife and family.
They are staying in Glasgow in order to be able to visit him in prison.
"My conscience has moved so much over the past two days that I wrote to Mr Megrahi offering him my support, telling him that I was convinced he is innocent and that I would willingly offer support to him and his family," said the priest.
Fr Keegans said that that view put him at odds with friends in the US - many of whom were "convinced" of the Libyan's guilt.
"If I was convinced of Mr Megrahi's guilt, I would not be here today," he said.
"I'm here today because of his human plight, I'm here because I believe Scotland is a compassionate and a fair country.
"I also believe that justice for Mr Megrahi will equal justice for the families because the full truth of Lockerbie has never been revealed."
Fr Keegans, who now lives in Ayr, was a priest in Lockerbie at the time of the bombing.
[From The Herald's report of today's press conference to mark the launch of the Justice for Megrahi campaign. The full report can be read here.]
Justice for Megrahi campaign
A campaign to free the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing will be launched today.
The "Justice for Megrahi" campaign will seek to generate support for the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi from prison on grounds of compassion.
The 56-year-old, who was convicted in 2001 of the bombing of Pan Am 103, which killed 259 passengers and crew, and 11 residents of Lockerbie, on 21 December 1988, was diagnosed with "advanced state" prostate cancer in September.
A bid by his lawyers to release the Libyan on bail pending an appeal hearing was rejected by judges last month.
Robert Black, a professor of law at Edinburgh University who was instrumental in setting up Megrahi's trial under Scots Law at a specially-constructed court in the Netherlands, and Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter, Flora, died in the bombing, are among those behind the new campaign.
[From today's edition of The Scotsman. Scottish lawyers' magazine The Firm covers the launch of the campaign here. The magazine's editor, Steven Raeburn, has this to say:
"There is one problem that requires moral conscience, not resources, to tackle. Not only does Scotland imprison children to a disproportionate degree, we have also this month condemned a man -who has been officially adjudged to be the possible victim of a miscarriage of justice- to rot in a foreign jail until he dies. A literal death sentence.
"Hopefully compassion and morality are not being sacrificed on the altar of vengeance, or worse, to defer something as inconsequential as shame and embarrassment. It is in our own control to act with more nobility than this."
The campaign's website, which at present consists of little more than a statement of the campaign's aims and objectives and a list of committee members, is to be found at http://www.justiceformegrahi.com.]
The "Justice for Megrahi" campaign will seek to generate support for the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi from prison on grounds of compassion.
The 56-year-old, who was convicted in 2001 of the bombing of Pan Am 103, which killed 259 passengers and crew, and 11 residents of Lockerbie, on 21 December 1988, was diagnosed with "advanced state" prostate cancer in September.
A bid by his lawyers to release the Libyan on bail pending an appeal hearing was rejected by judges last month.
Robert Black, a professor of law at Edinburgh University who was instrumental in setting up Megrahi's trial under Scots Law at a specially-constructed court in the Netherlands, and Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter, Flora, died in the bombing, are among those behind the new campaign.
[From today's edition of The Scotsman. Scottish lawyers' magazine The Firm covers the launch of the campaign here. The magazine's editor, Steven Raeburn, has this to say:
"There is one problem that requires moral conscience, not resources, to tackle. Not only does Scotland imprison children to a disproportionate degree, we have also this month condemned a man -who has been officially adjudged to be the possible victim of a miscarriage of justice- to rot in a foreign jail until he dies. A literal death sentence.
"Hopefully compassion and morality are not being sacrificed on the altar of vengeance, or worse, to defer something as inconsequential as shame and embarrassment. It is in our own control to act with more nobility than this."
The campaign's website, which at present consists of little more than a statement of the campaign's aims and objectives and a list of committee members, is to be found at http://www.justiceformegrahi.com.]
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Interviews with Abdelbaset Megrahi's children
The Herald today prints interviews with Abdelbaset Megrahi's children, conducted by Lucy Adams at the family's Scottish home in Newton Mearns. The articles are entitled ‘I don’t feel angry, just so sad. My one wish is that my father comes home' and "Megrahi’s daughter: ‘I want to be a lawyer to help people like my dad'".
A number of other newspapers, including the Scottish tabloid, the Daily Record, have picked up The Herald's exclusive interviews. The letters page of The Scotsman has a letter headed "Let Megrahi go free".
A number of other newspapers, including the Scottish tabloid, the Daily Record, have picked up The Herald's exclusive interviews. The letters page of The Scotsman has a letter headed "Let Megrahi go free".
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Interview with Mrs Megrahi
Today's issue of The Herald runs a series of interviews in which Mrs Aisha Megrahi talks to Lucy Adams about how her family has been affected by her husband's imprisonment and the recent diagnosis of untreatable prostate cancer. The interviews are headed "Megrahi wife's plea: Set my husband free to die"; "'This illness is the hardest thing we have had to bear'"; and "I had nothing to do with it and the fight for justice continues".
In the print edition of the newspaper (but not the internet edition) the articles are accompanied by photographs of Mrs Megrahi taken at the family's house in Newton Mearns.
A further article by Damien Henderson describes memorial events that are planned for the twentieth anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster and outlines the views of some US and UK relatives and Lockerbie inhabitants towards Mr Megrahi and his conviction.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) The Herald is going to run interviews with Mr Megrahi's children. The trailer in today's paper reads: "The family life of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. In their first interview, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi's five children share emotional details of having to grow up while their father was in a Scottish prison and tell how they made Scotland their home."
In the print edition of the newspaper (but not the internet edition) the articles are accompanied by photographs of Mrs Megrahi taken at the family's house in Newton Mearns.
A further article by Damien Henderson describes memorial events that are planned for the twentieth anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster and outlines the views of some US and UK relatives and Lockerbie inhabitants towards Mr Megrahi and his conviction.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) The Herald is going to run interviews with Mr Megrahi's children. The trailer in today's paper reads: "The family life of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. In their first interview, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi's five children share emotional details of having to grow up while their father was in a Scottish prison and tell how they made Scotland their home."
Monday, 8 December 2008
TV programme recreates the final moments of flight over Lockerbie
The last moments of the Pan Am jet which crashed on to Lockerbie in a ball of flames killing 270 people will be relived on television tonight for the first time.
Modern technology has allowed researchers to reconstruct how the packed Boeing 747 was blown apart by a bomb at 31,000ft over the Scottish town.
Viewers will see the aircraft exploding and its nose cone severed from the fuselage. Seconds later the main cabin is torn apart, sending the wings spiralling to the ground.
The reconstruction ends with terrifying computer- generated scenes of the fireball smashing into Lockerbie with the church steeple clearly visible among the flames. (...)
Air Crash Investigation: Lockerbie, which will be shown on the National Geographic Channel at 9pm, will also include some television footage from the disaster and feature eyewitness accounts.
[From today's issue of The Herald. The full article can be read here. The Scotsman's report can be read here. From the trailer and the written accounts that I have seen, it appears that the programme swallows, hook line and sinker, the official US and UK version of events. Richard Marquise and FBI forensic science "expert" Thomas Thurman feature. Embarrassment all round when Abdelbaset Megrahi's conviction is -- rightly -- quashed.]
Modern technology has allowed researchers to reconstruct how the packed Boeing 747 was blown apart by a bomb at 31,000ft over the Scottish town.
Viewers will see the aircraft exploding and its nose cone severed from the fuselage. Seconds later the main cabin is torn apart, sending the wings spiralling to the ground.
The reconstruction ends with terrifying computer- generated scenes of the fireball smashing into Lockerbie with the church steeple clearly visible among the flames. (...)
Air Crash Investigation: Lockerbie, which will be shown on the National Geographic Channel at 9pm, will also include some television footage from the disaster and feature eyewitness accounts.
[From today's issue of The Herald. The full article can be read here. The Scotsman's report can be read here. From the trailer and the written accounts that I have seen, it appears that the programme swallows, hook line and sinker, the official US and UK version of events. Richard Marquise and FBI forensic science "expert" Thomas Thurman feature. Embarrassment all round when Abdelbaset Megrahi's conviction is -- rightly -- quashed.]
Friday, 5 December 2008
Silent walk for justice
Links to the various media reports on the silent walk for justice that took place in Edinburgh yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, and in which Abdelbaset Megrahi's wife and four of his children participated, can be found here.
Thursday, 4 December 2008
An anniversary
On December 4th [1991] the last Pan Am aircraft landed at Miami International from Barbados. Pan Am which had been operating under Chapter 11 [a form of bankruptcy protection] ceased operations after selling much of its operations earlier in the year to Delta Airlines. Pan Am which had been struggling for years was unable to recover from the bombing of a 747 over Lockerbie Scotland in 1988.
[From History Central.]
[From History Central.]
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Forthcoming Lockerbie book
An' then the world came tae oor doorstep: Lockerbie Lives and Stories
by Jill S Haldane, with a foreword by Robert Black.
Product Description
The Lockerbie Stories tell of the absolute incomprehension of something as alien as hunks of aeroplane and associated detritus falling through the roof of the home from aerospace above, penetrating the security of the family and exposing the self to chaos and despair, inverting life's experience from relatively familiar to discrete. The grief and trauma that followed, dealing with veil of death and destruction as victims and their belongings rained on homes, gardens and streets, together with the shock and upset involved in evacuation from your home and disruption of your routine. The frustrating inability to communicate with family and friends out with the community; the violation of all pre-conceived representations of Christmas and the descending swarm of strangers. To see your wee space on the planet, on the screen and beamed to innumerable other homes across the world. The silence then the noise: the sound of people and busyness was deafening to the quietude of the town and the echo reverberated for a few years. This is not a comparative study of how the Lockerbie bombing compares to any other disaster, natural or premeditated. By nature, disasters are variously horrific for the people directly and indirectly involved.
The book consists of accounts by Lockerbie indwellers of their experiences on 21 December 1988 and the years that followed.
Product Details
Paperback: 332 pages
Publisher: The Grimsay Press (December 19, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1845300637
ISBN-13: 978-1845300630
List price: £16.95/US$32.50
Product dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
Shipping weight: 1.2 pounds
[Details taken from Amazon.com. There is now an entry for the book on Amazon.co.uk]
by Jill S Haldane, with a foreword by Robert Black.
Product Description
The Lockerbie Stories tell of the absolute incomprehension of something as alien as hunks of aeroplane and associated detritus falling through the roof of the home from aerospace above, penetrating the security of the family and exposing the self to chaos and despair, inverting life's experience from relatively familiar to discrete. The grief and trauma that followed, dealing with veil of death and destruction as victims and their belongings rained on homes, gardens and streets, together with the shock and upset involved in evacuation from your home and disruption of your routine. The frustrating inability to communicate with family and friends out with the community; the violation of all pre-conceived representations of Christmas and the descending swarm of strangers. To see your wee space on the planet, on the screen and beamed to innumerable other homes across the world. The silence then the noise: the sound of people and busyness was deafening to the quietude of the town and the echo reverberated for a few years. This is not a comparative study of how the Lockerbie bombing compares to any other disaster, natural or premeditated. By nature, disasters are variously horrific for the people directly and indirectly involved.
The book consists of accounts by Lockerbie indwellers of their experiences on 21 December 1988 and the years that followed.
Product Details
Paperback: 332 pages
Publisher: The Grimsay Press (December 19, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1845300637
ISBN-13: 978-1845300630
List price: £16.95/US$32.50
Product dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
Shipping weight: 1.2 pounds
[Details taken from Amazon.com. There is now an entry for the book on Amazon.co.uk]
Megrahi’s wife to join vigil
The wife of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is planning to take part in a silent vigil outside the Scottish Parliament on Thursday aimed at highlighting alleged miscarriages of justice.
Aisha al Megrahi plans to join a group of aggrieved relatives on a silent walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood, where organisers have asked to meet with Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, to present information about several different cases.
Relatives plan to carry photographs of those they believe have suffered a miscarriage of justice, including Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, who is serving a life sentence in Greenock prison with a minimum term of 27 years for the bombing of PanAm flight 103 in 1988, which led to the deaths of 270 people.
Megrahi, 56, is suffering from terminal prostate cancer which has spread to other parts of his body and may not have long to live.
Last month, the court of criminal appeal refused to grant him interim liberation before his appeal next year. The defence claims there is a "compelling case" for releasing him on bail, but the three judges turned down the request.
Mrs Megrahi, who has been living in Libya since 2005, has flown to Scotland to visit her husband in prison.
Although she has generally shied away from media attention, she recently criticised the way her husband has been treated.
She told a newspaper in Tripoli: "Hospitals in Scotland refused to take him because of the increased security involved in transferring him, especially the use of helicopters."
Megrahi, who has consistently denied any involvement in the bombing, said he was "very distressed" by the ruling and vowed that the fight to clear his name would continue after his death if necessary.
He lost an appeal in 2002, but was given a fresh chance to clear his name in June last year when the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission referred his case back to appeal judges for a second time on six different grounds. The fresh appeal is due to be heard next year.
[From an article by Lucy Adams in today's issue of The Herald. The full text can be read here. The procession is to assemble in Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh at 3pm on Thursday.]
Aisha al Megrahi plans to join a group of aggrieved relatives on a silent walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood, where organisers have asked to meet with Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, to present information about several different cases.
Relatives plan to carry photographs of those they believe have suffered a miscarriage of justice, including Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, who is serving a life sentence in Greenock prison with a minimum term of 27 years for the bombing of PanAm flight 103 in 1988, which led to the deaths of 270 people.
Megrahi, 56, is suffering from terminal prostate cancer which has spread to other parts of his body and may not have long to live.
Last month, the court of criminal appeal refused to grant him interim liberation before his appeal next year. The defence claims there is a "compelling case" for releasing him on bail, but the three judges turned down the request.
Mrs Megrahi, who has been living in Libya since 2005, has flown to Scotland to visit her husband in prison.
Although she has generally shied away from media attention, she recently criticised the way her husband has been treated.
She told a newspaper in Tripoli: "Hospitals in Scotland refused to take him because of the increased security involved in transferring him, especially the use of helicopters."
Megrahi, who has consistently denied any involvement in the bombing, said he was "very distressed" by the ruling and vowed that the fight to clear his name would continue after his death if necessary.
He lost an appeal in 2002, but was given a fresh chance to clear his name in June last year when the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission referred his case back to appeal judges for a second time on six different grounds. The fresh appeal is due to be heard next year.
[From an article by Lucy Adams in today's issue of The Herald. The full text can be read here. The procession is to assemble in Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh at 3pm on Thursday.]
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