[This is the headline over report just issued by The Press Association. It reads as follows:]
The Lockerbie bomber has been tracked down to his villa in the Libyan capital, where he is apparently comatose and near death, it has emerged.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was found bedridden, surrounded by his family in their grand home in an up-market part of Tripoli. His relatives allowed a reporting team from American news channel CNN to enter the house, which they said had been ransacked by looters who plundered all his medicine.
Oxygen and a fluids drip are all that are keeping him alive, according to his family.
His son Khaled al-Megrahi said he had no idea how much longer his father had to live, but insisted he should be able to spend his last few days in peace at home. "There is no doctor, there is nobody to ask and we don't have a phoneline to call anybody," he told the broadcaster.
His family said he had not been eating and they did not know how to treat him.
CNN reporter Nic Robertson said Megrahi looked far worse than he had done when he last saw him two years ago and described his appearance as "much iller, much sicker, his face is sunken...just a shell of the man he was". He added: "I was shocked when I walked into the room and saw him in such a state."
Megrahi was convicted and imprisoned in Scotland for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people. He was granted compassionate release in 2009 on the basis that he was expected to die from prostate cancer within months. But he survived and was residing in Tripoli until the Gaddafi regime fell.
Britain and the new Libyan government were at loggerheads over whether the bomber - and also Yvonne Fletcher's suspected killer - could be removed from the conflict-torn country. Pressure has been growing for Megrahi to be brought back to jail in the UK in the wake of the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
The Scottish Government and East Renfrewshire Council issued a joint statement to say there had been contact through Megrahi's family over the weekend.
It said: "Speculation about Al Megrahi in recent days has been unhelpful, unnecessary and indeed ill-informed. As has always been said, Al Megrahi is dying of a terminal disease, and matters regarding his medical condition should really be left there."
[Related reports in The Herald can be read here; in The Scotsman here; in The Guardian here. The report in The Times (behind the paywall) contains the following:]
“He is innocent,” Mohamed al-Alagi [Justice Minister in the Libyan Transitional National Council] told The Times, reflecting a widespread view within Libya. “We will not hand over any Libyan citizen. It was Gaddafi who handed over Libyan citizens,” said Mr al-Alagi, who helped defend al-Megrahi at his trial in the Netherlands.
[The full account of his tracing of Megrahi by CNN's Nic Robertson can be read here.]
Monday, 29 August 2011
Sunday, 28 August 2011
CNN claims to have tracked down Megrahi
[What follows is taken from an item just posted on the CNN Press Room blog. It features a photograph of Megrahi lying in bed with his mother sitting beside him:]
CNN's Nic Robertson has been looking for the man convicted of the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, and tracked him down today in Libya.
Libya's National Transitional Council announced Sunday it will not extradite Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing. The NTC justice minister Mohammed al-Alagi insisting that "We will not give any Libyan citizen to the West." Megrahi may be the last man alive who knows precisely who in the Libya government authorized that bombing. [RB: Alternatively, having had nothing to do with the bombing, he may not.]
CNN's Nic Robertson has been looking for the man convicted of the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, and tracked him down today in Libya.
Libya's National Transitional Council announced Sunday it will not extradite Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing. The NTC justice minister Mohammed al-Alagi insisting that "We will not give any Libyan citizen to the West." Megrahi may be the last man alive who knows precisely who in the Libya government authorized that bombing. [RB: Alternatively, having had nothing to do with the bombing, he may not.]
New Libyan government "will not hand over Megrahi"
[The following are excerpts from a report published (behind the paywall) in today's edition of The Sunday Times:]
Libya’s new government will refuse to hand over the suspected killer of WPC Yvonne Fletcher and the Lockerbie bomber if Britain seeks their extradition, senior officials warned this weekend.
Members of the National Transitional Council (NTC) said they would block any request for a British trial of the man suspected of shooting Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.
They would also reject any attempt to return Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, to prison in Scotland.
Hassan al-Sagheer, a member of the NTC and a legal expert, said: “Libya has never extradited or handed over its citizens to a foreign country. We shall continue with this principle.” (...)
[The comments will] dismay relatives of the Lockerbie victims and politicians in Britain and America who have called for Megrahi to be sent back to jail. David Cameron has said he should not have been released two years ago when it was thought he would die from prostate cancer within months. (...)
Members of the NTC said they were highly unlikely to change the position.
“According to our laws, no one can be handed over unless there are previous agreements or special agreements to do so,” said Fawzi al-Ali, another NTC member.
A senior judge who took part in the early stages of the uprising that toppled Gadaffi last week emphasised another reason why Megrahi would not be sent to Britain or — as some US politicians have demanded — America.
The bomber is a member of one of the largest tribes that sided with Gadaffi during the revolt. “Any move to hand him back would cause internal conflict at a time when we are trying to bridge differences,” the judge said.
[Here is UK Foreign Secretary William Hague's response, as reported on The Telegraph website:]
Speaking in a round of broadcast interviews this morning, Mr Hague said: "This is an ongoing police investigation so it is quite difficult for me to comment.
"I would say that when chairman (Mustafa Abdel) Jalil, the chairman of the National Transitional Council, was with us in London in May he committed himself and the council to co-operating fully with the British government on this issue.
"It is true, it is a fact, that there is no extradition treaty with Libya. but we look to them to cooperate fully.
"So I would not take what has been written in the press today as the last word."
[And here is the Libyan National Transitional Council's rejoinder, as reported by The Press Association news agency:]
On Sunday morning, Foreign Secretary William Hague struck an optimistic note on the case, saying National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil had pledged to "co-operate fully".
"I would say that when chairman Jalil...was with us in London in May he committed himself and the council to co-operating fully with the British government on this issue," Mr Hague said in a round of broadcast interviews. It is true, it is a fact, that there is no extradition treaty with Libya. But we look to them to co-operate fully."
Mr Hague played down comments by junior NTC members that extraditions would be blocked, insisting they were not the "last word".
However, on Sunday evening new justice minister Mohammed al-Alagi became the most senior figure so far to rule out handing individuals over.
"We will not give any Libyan citizen to the West," he told reporters in Tripoli. "Al-Megrahi has already been judged once and he will not be judged again ... We do not hand over Libyan citizens. (Muammar) Gaddafi does."
[It should be noted that Libya did not extradite Megrahi and Fhimah for trial at Zeist, for exactly the reason set out above -- Libyan law (like that of many other countries) does not permit the extradition of its citizens for trial abroad. Megrahi and Fhimah voluntarily surrendered for trial, a decision that Megrahi at least must now bitterly regret.]
Libya’s new government will refuse to hand over the suspected killer of WPC Yvonne Fletcher and the Lockerbie bomber if Britain seeks their extradition, senior officials warned this weekend.
Members of the National Transitional Council (NTC) said they would block any request for a British trial of the man suspected of shooting Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.
They would also reject any attempt to return Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, to prison in Scotland.
Hassan al-Sagheer, a member of the NTC and a legal expert, said: “Libya has never extradited or handed over its citizens to a foreign country. We shall continue with this principle.” (...)
[The comments will] dismay relatives of the Lockerbie victims and politicians in Britain and America who have called for Megrahi to be sent back to jail. David Cameron has said he should not have been released two years ago when it was thought he would die from prostate cancer within months. (...)
Members of the NTC said they were highly unlikely to change the position.
“According to our laws, no one can be handed over unless there are previous agreements or special agreements to do so,” said Fawzi al-Ali, another NTC member.
A senior judge who took part in the early stages of the uprising that toppled Gadaffi last week emphasised another reason why Megrahi would not be sent to Britain or — as some US politicians have demanded — America.
The bomber is a member of one of the largest tribes that sided with Gadaffi during the revolt. “Any move to hand him back would cause internal conflict at a time when we are trying to bridge differences,” the judge said.
[Here is UK Foreign Secretary William Hague's response, as reported on The Telegraph website:]
Speaking in a round of broadcast interviews this morning, Mr Hague said: "This is an ongoing police investigation so it is quite difficult for me to comment.
"I would say that when chairman (Mustafa Abdel) Jalil, the chairman of the National Transitional Council, was with us in London in May he committed himself and the council to co-operating fully with the British government on this issue.
"It is true, it is a fact, that there is no extradition treaty with Libya. but we look to them to cooperate fully.
"So I would not take what has been written in the press today as the last word."
[And here is the Libyan National Transitional Council's rejoinder, as reported by The Press Association news agency:]
On Sunday morning, Foreign Secretary William Hague struck an optimistic note on the case, saying National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil had pledged to "co-operate fully".
"I would say that when chairman Jalil...was with us in London in May he committed himself and the council to co-operating fully with the British government on this issue," Mr Hague said in a round of broadcast interviews. It is true, it is a fact, that there is no extradition treaty with Libya. But we look to them to co-operate fully."
Mr Hague played down comments by junior NTC members that extraditions would be blocked, insisting they were not the "last word".
However, on Sunday evening new justice minister Mohammed al-Alagi became the most senior figure so far to rule out handing individuals over.
"We will not give any Libyan citizen to the West," he told reporters in Tripoli. "Al-Megrahi has already been judged once and he will not be judged again ... We do not hand over Libyan citizens. (Muammar) Gaddafi does."
[It should be noted that Libya did not extradite Megrahi and Fhimah for trial at Zeist, for exactly the reason set out above -- Libyan law (like that of many other countries) does not permit the extradition of its citizens for trial abroad. Megrahi and Fhimah voluntarily surrendered for trial, a decision that Megrahi at least must now bitterly regret.]
I've no idea where 'friend' Megrahi is
[This is the headline over a report in today's edition of the Sunday Express. It deals with the recent interview with Lamin Fhimah published in the Swedish newspaper Expressen. It adds nothing to Friday's post on this blog, except the following:]
The man cleared of the Lockerbie bombing yesterday broke his 10-year silence to admit he has no idea where his missing “friend” Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi has gone. (...)
Last night, Megrahi’s son Khaled posted on Facebook claiming his father has been moved to a relative’s house. (...)
[Fhimah] said: “When I was released and came home from Holland, I drove to a place where Gaddafi made a show out of it. We spoke nothing to each other. He welcomed me and nothing more.
“The only thing the regime did after they welcomed me was to confiscate my passport. I don’t know why, but they claimed that when the verdict against Megrahi was appealed I had to stay here in order to testify.” (...)
Labour claimed the SNP has “ignored” a law that allows a prisoner to be recalled if there is a “reversal or improvement” in their condition.
Party leader Iain Gray said: “If this piece of legislation had been enacted Megrahi could be back behind bars. It is yet another example of the SNP’s incompetence in this affair.”
However, a spokesman for Mr MacAskill said: “Al Megrahi was sent back to Libya following the due process of Scots Law because he was dying of terminal prostate cancer.
“He is dying of terminal prostate cancer, therefore by definition there has been no change in the medical conditions that led to his release.”
[Today's edition of Scotland on Sunday contains a long article by Dani Garavelli headlined Liberation of Libya opens way to Lockerbie truth which outlines some of the legal, political and practical difficulties standing in the way of either returning Megrahi to prison or holding further Lockerbie trials.]
The man cleared of the Lockerbie bombing yesterday broke his 10-year silence to admit he has no idea where his missing “friend” Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi has gone. (...)
Last night, Megrahi’s son Khaled posted on Facebook claiming his father has been moved to a relative’s house. (...)
[Fhimah] said: “When I was released and came home from Holland, I drove to a place where Gaddafi made a show out of it. We spoke nothing to each other. He welcomed me and nothing more.
“The only thing the regime did after they welcomed me was to confiscate my passport. I don’t know why, but they claimed that when the verdict against Megrahi was appealed I had to stay here in order to testify.” (...)
Labour claimed the SNP has “ignored” a law that allows a prisoner to be recalled if there is a “reversal or improvement” in their condition.
Party leader Iain Gray said: “If this piece of legislation had been enacted Megrahi could be back behind bars. It is yet another example of the SNP’s incompetence in this affair.”
However, a spokesman for Mr MacAskill said: “Al Megrahi was sent back to Libya following the due process of Scots Law because he was dying of terminal prostate cancer.
“He is dying of terminal prostate cancer, therefore by definition there has been no change in the medical conditions that led to his release.”
[Today's edition of Scotland on Sunday contains a long article by Dani Garavelli headlined Liberation of Libya opens way to Lockerbie truth which outlines some of the legal, political and practical difficulties standing in the way of either returning Megrahi to prison or holding further Lockerbie trials.]
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Neighbor: Lockerbie bomber's family at Libya home
[This is the headline over a news agency report from The Associated Press published this afternoon. It reads in part:]
No one answered the door Saturday at the Lockerbie bomber's Tripoli villa, hidden behind tall walls in an upscale neighborhood of the capital.
A neighbor, Yousef Mohammed, said he saw the son of Abdel-Baset al-Megrahi in the street on Friday and assumed that the family had not left the area. No private guards or rebel fighters were visible in the quiet side street of walled villas. (...)
Al-Megrahi is the only person convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Britain's worst terrorist attack. His release after serving eight years of a life sentence infuriated the families of many victims, who suspected Britain's real motive was to improve relations with oil-rich Libya.
Some relatives [of Lockerbie victims], however, believe that al-Megrahi was wrongly convicted and that evidence points to Iranian-backed Palestinian militants as the perpetrators.
Mohammed, the neighbor, said he often saw al-Megrahi in the neighborhood. "This guy is sick. All the time, I saw him in the (wheelchair)," he said. Mohammed, a 30-year-old oil worker, said he and other neighbors did not believe al-Megrahi was involved in the Lockerbie bombing and that the family was well-liked in the neighborhood.
Usama el-Abed, the deputy chief of Tripoli's new city council, said he understood the sensitivity of the matter, but referred all questions about al-Megrahi to the rebels' interim government.
No one answered the door Saturday at the Lockerbie bomber's Tripoli villa, hidden behind tall walls in an upscale neighborhood of the capital.
A neighbor, Yousef Mohammed, said he saw the son of Abdel-Baset al-Megrahi in the street on Friday and assumed that the family had not left the area. No private guards or rebel fighters were visible in the quiet side street of walled villas. (...)
Al-Megrahi is the only person convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Britain's worst terrorist attack. His release after serving eight years of a life sentence infuriated the families of many victims, who suspected Britain's real motive was to improve relations with oil-rich Libya.
Some relatives [of Lockerbie victims], however, believe that al-Megrahi was wrongly convicted and that evidence points to Iranian-backed Palestinian militants as the perpetrators.
Mohammed, the neighbor, said he often saw al-Megrahi in the neighborhood. "This guy is sick. All the time, I saw him in the (wheelchair)," he said. Mohammed, a 30-year-old oil worker, said he and other neighbors did not believe al-Megrahi was involved in the Lockerbie bombing and that the family was well-liked in the neighborhood.
Usama el-Abed, the deputy chief of Tripoli's new city council, said he understood the sensitivity of the matter, but referred all questions about al-Megrahi to the rebels' interim government.
Gaddafi escapes to Algeria?
[This is the headline over a report published today on the Israeli Ynet News website. It reads in part:]
A convoy of six armored vehicles has crossed the Libyan border to Algeria on Saturday night, the Egyptian news agency reported. While it is unclear who was riding in the cars, a rebel forces source estimated that the convoy transported senior Libyan officials – including the embattled leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
The report quoted a Libyan military council source as saying that troops loyal to Gaddafi's regime accompanied the convoy to the border. There was no official confirmation of the claim.
Algeria continues to maintain neutrality in the conflict, as it did throughout Libya's civil war. (...)
Meanwhile, authorities in the West continued to search for Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was convicted in the December 1988 bombing of a US-bound airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.
They attributed the loss of contact with Megrahi, who had been serving a minimum 27-year prison sentence for the bombing of Pan Am 103, to chaotic conditions in Libya caused by rebels' climactic push to oust Gaddafi. (...)
If Megrahi does not reappear in the relatively near future, it could cause fresh strains in relations between Scotland, Britain, and the United States. US politicians and the Obama administration harshly criticized Scotland's decision to release Megrahi.
[A related Agence France Presse news agency report can be read here.
The truth of this report has now been denied by the Algerian Foreign Ministry.]
A convoy of six armored vehicles has crossed the Libyan border to Algeria on Saturday night, the Egyptian news agency reported. While it is unclear who was riding in the cars, a rebel forces source estimated that the convoy transported senior Libyan officials – including the embattled leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
The report quoted a Libyan military council source as saying that troops loyal to Gaddafi's regime accompanied the convoy to the border. There was no official confirmation of the claim.
Algeria continues to maintain neutrality in the conflict, as it did throughout Libya's civil war. (...)
Meanwhile, authorities in the West continued to search for Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was convicted in the December 1988 bombing of a US-bound airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.
They attributed the loss of contact with Megrahi, who had been serving a minimum 27-year prison sentence for the bombing of Pan Am 103, to chaotic conditions in Libya caused by rebels' climactic push to oust Gaddafi. (...)
If Megrahi does not reappear in the relatively near future, it could cause fresh strains in relations between Scotland, Britain, and the United States. US politicians and the Obama administration harshly criticized Scotland's decision to release Megrahi.
[A related Agence France Presse news agency report can be read here.
The truth of this report has now been denied by the Algerian Foreign Ministry.]
Leader Iain Gray and Labour Party in Scotland at odds over Megrahi
[What follow are excerpts from a report in today's edition of The Herald:]
Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray has previously criticised the decision to release Megrahi.
Last night he said the terms of his release were now in “chaos” following reports of his departure.
“Scots who were aghast at the original decision [to release him] will now be totally perplexed at the Scottish Government’s insistence the licence has not been breached. Is Alex Salmond in denial?” he added.
He also accused the Scottish Government of attempts to shift responsibility on to the council, and “wash their hands of the matter”.
Megrahi was released in 2009 suffering from terminal prostate cancer. If he has broken the conditions of his release he could, technically, be recalled.
A spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party said it was not for opposition parties to decide.
“It does seem if he is on the run as has been reported then he has broken the terms of his licence,” he said. “However, that is not for us to decide – that judgment is for the Scottish Government. It is not for the Scottish Labour Party to monitor his release licence. We do not have the information the Scottish Government and East Renfrewshire Council have.”
He added: “We are not going to say that the conditions of his release have been broken, that would be irresponsible. But people will be asking whether they have been broken.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said it contacted the Libyan National Transitional Council in London and would discuss any change in Megrahi’s circumstances with it.
“However, all of the information we have about Megrahi is consistent with him dying of terminal prostate cancer, and he has not been in breach of his licence conditions,” he added.
He also said that contact with Megrahi by the criminal justice social work service of East Renfrewshire Council was not due for some time.
Last night, the council confirmed it was still attempting to speak to Megrahi. A spokesman also confirmed the council had received the latest monthly medical report on Megrahi and another was not due until next month.
[Two letters on the subject of Megrahi appear in the same newspaper. They read as follows:]
Well done to Iain Macwhirter for bringing some sanity back to the Megrahi debate (“If Megrahi is to be tried again, then let it be in the new Libya”, The Herald, August 25).
Many of those clamouring for Megrahi’s blood appear to have forgotten about the Scottish Criminal Courts Review Commission (SCCRC) decision to refer his case for appeal because they were of the view “that the applicant may have suffered a miscarriage of justice”.
What is astonishing is that there has been no outcry by our media and politicians over the enormous sum of money apparently paid to Tony Gauci for giving evidence. As Mr Macwhirter implies, this alone should render Megrahi’s conviction unsafe. Why are David Cameron, Nick Clegg and George Foulkes, among others, not demanding an explanation for this payment from the US?
Dr Hans Koechler, a university professor, was nominated by the United Nations to be an international observer at the Lockerbie trial in the Netherlands. In his evaluation of the proceedings, he stated: “As to my knowledge, there is not one single piece of material evidence linking the two accused (in the original indictment Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah were jointly accused of the bombing) to the crime. In such a context, the guilty verdict in regard to Megrahi appears arbitrary, even irrational.”
Dr Koechler also found it incomprehensible that when the indictment was based on the joint action of the two accused in Malta, Megrahi was found guilty and Fhimah not guilty.
It will be interesting to discover the content of the SCCRC report when it is published next month. [RB: The Scottish Government's legislative programme is to be published next month and is expected to feature primary legislation to enable the SCCRC Statement of Reasons to be published. It is most unlikely that the legislation will be enacted next month.]
Robert Woodcock.
If Megrahi’s release is good enough for Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter on Pan Am flight 103, and has conducted himself with dignity, balance and reason ever since, then it’s good enough for me – and forget the political posturing.
R Russell Smith.
Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray has previously criticised the decision to release Megrahi.
Last night he said the terms of his release were now in “chaos” following reports of his departure.
“Scots who were aghast at the original decision [to release him] will now be totally perplexed at the Scottish Government’s insistence the licence has not been breached. Is Alex Salmond in denial?” he added.
He also accused the Scottish Government of attempts to shift responsibility on to the council, and “wash their hands of the matter”.
Megrahi was released in 2009 suffering from terminal prostate cancer. If he has broken the conditions of his release he could, technically, be recalled.
A spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party said it was not for opposition parties to decide.
“It does seem if he is on the run as has been reported then he has broken the terms of his licence,” he said. “However, that is not for us to decide – that judgment is for the Scottish Government. It is not for the Scottish Labour Party to monitor his release licence. We do not have the information the Scottish Government and East Renfrewshire Council have.”
He added: “We are not going to say that the conditions of his release have been broken, that would be irresponsible. But people will be asking whether they have been broken.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said it contacted the Libyan National Transitional Council in London and would discuss any change in Megrahi’s circumstances with it.
“However, all of the information we have about Megrahi is consistent with him dying of terminal prostate cancer, and he has not been in breach of his licence conditions,” he added.
He also said that contact with Megrahi by the criminal justice social work service of East Renfrewshire Council was not due for some time.
Last night, the council confirmed it was still attempting to speak to Megrahi. A spokesman also confirmed the council had received the latest monthly medical report on Megrahi and another was not due until next month.
[Two letters on the subject of Megrahi appear in the same newspaper. They read as follows:]
Well done to Iain Macwhirter for bringing some sanity back to the Megrahi debate (“If Megrahi is to be tried again, then let it be in the new Libya”, The Herald, August 25).
Many of those clamouring for Megrahi’s blood appear to have forgotten about the Scottish Criminal Courts Review Commission (SCCRC) decision to refer his case for appeal because they were of the view “that the applicant may have suffered a miscarriage of justice”.
What is astonishing is that there has been no outcry by our media and politicians over the enormous sum of money apparently paid to Tony Gauci for giving evidence. As Mr Macwhirter implies, this alone should render Megrahi’s conviction unsafe. Why are David Cameron, Nick Clegg and George Foulkes, among others, not demanding an explanation for this payment from the US?
Dr Hans Koechler, a university professor, was nominated by the United Nations to be an international observer at the Lockerbie trial in the Netherlands. In his evaluation of the proceedings, he stated: “As to my knowledge, there is not one single piece of material evidence linking the two accused (in the original indictment Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah were jointly accused of the bombing) to the crime. In such a context, the guilty verdict in regard to Megrahi appears arbitrary, even irrational.”
Dr Koechler also found it incomprehensible that when the indictment was based on the joint action of the two accused in Malta, Megrahi was found guilty and Fhimah not guilty.
It will be interesting to discover the content of the SCCRC report when it is published next month. [RB: The Scottish Government's legislative programme is to be published next month and is expected to feature primary legislation to enable the SCCRC Statement of Reasons to be published. It is most unlikely that the legislation will be enacted next month.]
Robert Woodcock.
If Megrahi’s release is good enough for Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter on Pan Am flight 103, and has conducted himself with dignity, balance and reason ever since, then it’s good enough for me – and forget the political posturing.
R Russell Smith.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Lamin Khalifa Fhimah on Gaddafi
[On the website of the Swedish newspaper Expressen today there appears an article based on an exclusive interview with Lamin Fhimah, the accused who was acquitted at the Zeist trial. It reads as follows:]
Expressen has met with Lockerbie bombing suspect Lamin Khalifa Fhimah who was tried on suspicion of involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Daring to speek openly about the Libyan dictator for the first time, Fhimah says Gadhafi "should be tried in court" in regards to whether he ordered the bombing and that he had his life taken away from him by the regime. "I don't know whether Gadhafi had anything to do with Lockerbie or not. There is a court and he is the one to explain whether he is innocent or not. He has to." Fhimah says.
Expressen met with Lamin Khalifa Fhimah in his home in Tripoli on Thursday. With the Libyan regime toppling, he feels that he is able to speak his mind on Muammar Khadaffi for the first time.
Fhimah was suspected of involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, tried and found not guilty.
His arrival in Libya following the trial became a spectacle of large proportions and one of the four times Fhimah met with Gadhafi.
Despite being given a hero's welcome and what seemed like special treatment by Gadhafi, Lamin Khalifa Fhimah is now siding with the Libyan rebels.
Gadhafi made a show out of my arrival. We didn't say anything to each other. He welcomed me and nothing more. After that I stopped hearing from them.
He considers himself one of the victims of the Gadhafi regime.
I lost my travel agency in Malta. I had a farm that I was forced to sell in order to provide for myself and my family. I haven't received any compensation from the regime. The only thing they did after welcoming me was confiscating my passport. I dont't know why. They claimed that when the sentence against Al Megrahi would be repealed by them, I had to be here to testify.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed Al Megrahi was found guilty of the Pan Am bombing but was set free in 2009 due to severe illness.
When he arrived in Libya, Lamin Khalifa Fhimah was one of the first to welcome him and news footage of the two, arm-in-arm at the airport, raised suspicion against the aquitted Fhimah.
"Al Megrahi was a friend and a colleague of mine. I don't know if he has anything to do with Lockerbie. There was a legal process and he was sentenced by a court," he says.
Lamin Khalifa Fhimah describes the fall of Gadhafi as a "blessed moment".
I was never a part of the regime. I am an ordinary citizen, who was connected to a crime I had nothing to do with and I don't know who made that connection.
In an interview with Expressen in February of this year Gadhafi's former Minister for Justice Mustafa Abdul Jalil now one of the integral forces of the ongoing revolution claimed that the Lockerbie bombing was in fact executed on Gadhafi's orders. [RB: But Mr Jalil has never supplied the evidence that he then promised.]
Expressen has met with Lockerbie bombing suspect Lamin Khalifa Fhimah who was tried on suspicion of involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Daring to speek openly about the Libyan dictator for the first time, Fhimah says Gadhafi "should be tried in court" in regards to whether he ordered the bombing and that he had his life taken away from him by the regime. "I don't know whether Gadhafi had anything to do with Lockerbie or not. There is a court and he is the one to explain whether he is innocent or not. He has to." Fhimah says.
Expressen met with Lamin Khalifa Fhimah in his home in Tripoli on Thursday. With the Libyan regime toppling, he feels that he is able to speak his mind on Muammar Khadaffi for the first time.
Fhimah was suspected of involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, tried and found not guilty.
His arrival in Libya following the trial became a spectacle of large proportions and one of the four times Fhimah met with Gadhafi.
Despite being given a hero's welcome and what seemed like special treatment by Gadhafi, Lamin Khalifa Fhimah is now siding with the Libyan rebels.
Gadhafi made a show out of my arrival. We didn't say anything to each other. He welcomed me and nothing more. After that I stopped hearing from them.
He considers himself one of the victims of the Gadhafi regime.
I lost my travel agency in Malta. I had a farm that I was forced to sell in order to provide for myself and my family. I haven't received any compensation from the regime. The only thing they did after welcoming me was confiscating my passport. I dont't know why. They claimed that when the sentence against Al Megrahi would be repealed by them, I had to be here to testify.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed Al Megrahi was found guilty of the Pan Am bombing but was set free in 2009 due to severe illness.
When he arrived in Libya, Lamin Khalifa Fhimah was one of the first to welcome him and news footage of the two, arm-in-arm at the airport, raised suspicion against the aquitted Fhimah.
"Al Megrahi was a friend and a colleague of mine. I don't know if he has anything to do with Lockerbie. There was a legal process and he was sentenced by a court," he says.
Lamin Khalifa Fhimah describes the fall of Gadhafi as a "blessed moment".
I was never a part of the regime. I am an ordinary citizen, who was connected to a crime I had nothing to do with and I don't know who made that connection.
In an interview with Expressen in February of this year Gadhafi's former Minister for Justice Mustafa Abdul Jalil now one of the integral forces of the ongoing revolution claimed that the Lockerbie bombing was in fact executed on Gadhafi's orders. [RB: But Mr Jalil has never supplied the evidence that he then promised.]
The Lockerbie convict's new war
[This is the headline over an article by William Underhill published yesterday night on the website of The Daily Beast. It reads in part:]
Now the collapse of the Gaddafi regime has brought calls for Megrahi’s extradition to the United States or his return to prison in Libya.
For a vocal lobby in Washington, his freedom—and continuing survival—represent an affront that can at last be addressed. In the words of Sen Kirsten Gillibrand: “Seeing him participate in good health at a pro-Gaddafi rally recently was another slap in the face not just for the families of the Lockerbie victims but for all Americans and for all nations of the world who are committed to bringing terrorists to justice.”
A tad overstated? Such rhetoric certainly won’t find universal support in Britain. Megrahi is far from friendless back in Scotland, where Pan Am flight 103 crashed in 1988 killing 270 passengers and residents of the small town of Lockerbie. Campaigners convinced of his innocence are pressing the Scottish parliament for an inquiry leading to a possible appeal that would clear Megrahi’s name.
And the roll-call of big-name supporters for the Justice for Megrahi group can’t be easily ignored. On the list: Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu; the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien; Jim Swire, the parent of a Lockerbie victim, and Professor Robert Black, the lawyer who devised the special court which tried Megrahi in the Netherlands in 2001.
One more backer, the leading lawyer Ian Hamilton, has blogged: “I don't think there's a lawyer in Scotland who now believes Mr. Megrahi was justly convicted."
The group insists there’s no case for extradition on legal grounds. Says Robert Forrester, secretary of the campaign: “Mr. Megrahi is a Scots prisoner released under license and still falls under Scots jurisdiction therefore and neither Washington nor Westminster has any jurisdiction under Scots law.” But he concedes that politics may determine his fate. “The man should be left alone to continue with his medical treatment but he has become such a pawn that I can’t believe that is going to happen.”
Now the collapse of the Gaddafi regime has brought calls for Megrahi’s extradition to the United States or his return to prison in Libya.
For a vocal lobby in Washington, his freedom—and continuing survival—represent an affront that can at last be addressed. In the words of Sen Kirsten Gillibrand: “Seeing him participate in good health at a pro-Gaddafi rally recently was another slap in the face not just for the families of the Lockerbie victims but for all Americans and for all nations of the world who are committed to bringing terrorists to justice.”
A tad overstated? Such rhetoric certainly won’t find universal support in Britain. Megrahi is far from friendless back in Scotland, where Pan Am flight 103 crashed in 1988 killing 270 passengers and residents of the small town of Lockerbie. Campaigners convinced of his innocence are pressing the Scottish parliament for an inquiry leading to a possible appeal that would clear Megrahi’s name.
And the roll-call of big-name supporters for the Justice for Megrahi group can’t be easily ignored. On the list: Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu; the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien; Jim Swire, the parent of a Lockerbie victim, and Professor Robert Black, the lawyer who devised the special court which tried Megrahi in the Netherlands in 2001.
One more backer, the leading lawyer Ian Hamilton, has blogged: “I don't think there's a lawyer in Scotland who now believes Mr. Megrahi was justly convicted."
The group insists there’s no case for extradition on legal grounds. Says Robert Forrester, secretary of the campaign: “Mr. Megrahi is a Scots prisoner released under license and still falls under Scots jurisdiction therefore and neither Washington nor Westminster has any jurisdiction under Scots law.” But he concedes that politics may determine his fate. “The man should be left alone to continue with his medical treatment but he has become such a pawn that I can’t believe that is going to happen.”
“Spectacular” logic as MacAskill justifies discredited primary legislation argument over Megrahi miscarriage report
[This is the headline over a news item just published on the website of Scottish lawyers' magazine The Firm. It reads as follows:]
The Secretary of the Justice for Megrahi Committee has dismissed the “spectacular” logic of the Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill, who has written to the committee repeating that an Act of Parliament is required to facilitate the publication of the report which concluded Abdelbaset Al Megrahi may have suffered a miscarriage of justice.
MacAskill had been asked to explain why such an Act was necessary when a simpler piece of secondary legislation introduced the mechanism which is currently blocking the report of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Professor Robert Black QC has previously said that an Act of Parliament is not required.
“As you will be aware, the Scottish Government made the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (Permitted Disclosure of Information) Order 2009, which provided that the SCCRC may publish information relating to a case it has referred to the Appeal Court which is subsequently abandoned, providing that persons who have provided information to the Commission have consented to its disclosure,” MacAskill said.
“In December 2010, the SCCRC announced that it had been unsuccessful in obtaining consent from all the relevant parties to the publication of the Statement of Reasons in the Megrahi case. In light of this, primary legislation is needed to provide the flexibility required to ensure that an appropriate legislative framework is put in place.
“The proposed legislation will facilitate the release of a statement of reasons by the Commission in circumstances where an appeal has been abandoned.”
The letter does not address the question put to it by the group, which asked why primary legislation was necessary, rather than secondary legislation.
“Whilst the text may be new, the logic, if that is not being too generous with the term, is spectacular,” JFM Secretary Robert Forrester said.
“This simply states what we already know then provides an answer which leaves us stranded somewhere."
The Secretary of the Justice for Megrahi Committee has dismissed the “spectacular” logic of the Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill, who has written to the committee repeating that an Act of Parliament is required to facilitate the publication of the report which concluded Abdelbaset Al Megrahi may have suffered a miscarriage of justice.
MacAskill had been asked to explain why such an Act was necessary when a simpler piece of secondary legislation introduced the mechanism which is currently blocking the report of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Professor Robert Black QC has previously said that an Act of Parliament is not required.
“As you will be aware, the Scottish Government made the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (Permitted Disclosure of Information) Order 2009, which provided that the SCCRC may publish information relating to a case it has referred to the Appeal Court which is subsequently abandoned, providing that persons who have provided information to the Commission have consented to its disclosure,” MacAskill said.
“In December 2010, the SCCRC announced that it had been unsuccessful in obtaining consent from all the relevant parties to the publication of the Statement of Reasons in the Megrahi case. In light of this, primary legislation is needed to provide the flexibility required to ensure that an appropriate legislative framework is put in place.
“The proposed legislation will facilitate the release of a statement of reasons by the Commission in circumstances where an appeal has been abandoned.”
The letter does not address the question put to it by the group, which asked why primary legislation was necessary, rather than secondary legislation.
“Whilst the text may be new, the logic, if that is not being too generous with the term, is spectacular,” JFM Secretary Robert Forrester said.
“This simply states what we already know then provides an answer which leaves us stranded somewhere."
Scottish officials still in dark as to whereabouts of Lockerbie bomber
[This is the headline over a report in today's edition of The Scotsman. It reads as follows:]
The Scottish justice secretary said officials are trying to contact Libyan rebel leaders as part of efforts to track down the Lockerbie bomber.
Kenny MacAskill said attempts are being made to reach the National Transitional Council (NTC) while fighting continues in Tripoli. Mr MacAskill released Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds two years ago after medical advice that the prisoner was three months from death. [RB: Three months from death was said to be a reasonable prognosis if he remained in prison in Scotland.]
As part of the terms, Megrahi is supposed to check in with officials at East Renfrewshire Council, but he has not been reached since fighting broke out in Tripoli. There have been growing calls in the US for Megrahi to be extradited there in the wake of the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
But yesterday Mr MacAskill said: "Mr Megrahi is a Scottish prisoner. He's been released on licence in terms of the law that applies in Scotland.
"He remains a Scottish prisoner having been convicted by a Scottish court, albeit one that sat in the Netherlands, but it did so after the intervention of the United Nations, of Nelson Mandela and others, and he was tried by international agreement under the laws of Scotland."
He added: "There are obligations that go with him being a Scottish prisoner released on licence. But whilst we're in a war zone, which is accepted by everybody, I think we need to wait and see what happens there."
Asked if the Scottish Government is seeking contact with the NTC about Megrahi, Mr MacAskill said: "We're entering into communications. These matters are difficult, but we're seeking to make sure that we lock on to the authorities. But at present there is some doubt as to just which parts of Tripoli are controlled by whom. So, we seek to enter into discussions with the appropriate authorities."
He offered his support to council officials trying to contact Megrahi but said the "dust of battle" will have to settle before the picture is clear.
[The following, from an item posted yesterday on this blog, perhaps gives a more accurate picture than that painted above:]
A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: “The next appointed date for scheduled contact with Al-Megrahi by the criminal justice social work service of East Renfrewshire Council is not for some time.
“He has not been in breach of his licence conditions to date, and if these circumstances were to change then that would be a matter for discussion with the new duly constituted authorities in Libya.
“As the Justice Secretary has said, we have already established a line of communication with the National Transitional Council in London.” A spokesman for Mr MacAskill added that Megrahi had never been under house arrest as part of his release conditions and was allowed to come and go from his property in Tripoli.
[A report in today's edition of The Herald contains the following:]
It is East Renfrewshire that will determine whether the convicted terrorist has breached the terms of his release licence. These include keeping in regular contact and producing monthly medical reports.
However, it is thought the Scottish Government would ensure the Libyan was recalled to prison, if it was deemed he had breached his licence. (...)
In the US, there are growing calls for Megrahi to be reincarcerated, with some senators and relatives of the bombing victims demanding his extradition to the US to stand trial there.
The Herald has been told that, on the ground in Libya, a race is now on between US and UK special forces to find and seize the convicted terrorist.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Gordon Brown has been rebuffed in his attempt to get a UK Government report on Megrahi changed.
In February, Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, concluded the Labour Government did “all it could” to facilitate the Libyan’s release. In six strongly-worded letters Mr Brown insisted he “did not propose, initiate, lead, adopt, or even know of a policy called facilitation” in relation to Megrahi. But Sir Gus said Government papers showed “facilitation” was the policy agreed by UK ministers. He has refused to change his report.
[The following are extracts from a report to be found behind the paywall in today's edition of The Times:]
The Times twice went to al-Megrahi’s high-walled mansion in a war-torn area of Tripoli yesterday and was told first by his brother and then by his son that he had gone. They suggested that he was either at Tripoli central hospital or at his mother’s home near the Bab al-Aziziya compound, Colonel Gaddafi’s former stronghold. The Times visited both but he was not at either. His mother’s modest house was locked up and neighbours said that the family had left many days ago. (...)
Al-Megrahi’s son, Khalid, 25, said that he was afraid the rebel National Transitional Council would hand his father back to the Scottish authorities. When asked about those calling for his reimprisonment, he replied: “Shame on them. He’s a human being. He’s very sick. What’s the point of him going back? He will die, and they’re the ones who sent him back to Tripoli in the first place.”
Al-Megrahi’s brother, Abdul Nasser, 53, ridiculed the idea of his returning to a Scottish prison, saying that he would never survive the journey. He would not let The Times into the house.
Both insisted that al-Megrahi, 58, was a very sick man who now spent most of his time in bed. He could no longer go to the toilet alone, was fed by intravenous drip, found it hard to talk and used an oxygen mask. “Last month the doctor came and said his medicines didn’t work any more,” they said. (...)
Khalid al-Megrahi said that his father left for the hospital last Friday, accompanied by his nurse. “We don’t know if he’s still there or even alive. We can’t get through to him,” he said, adding that he might have gone on to his mother’s house.
A doctor who lives nearby told The Times: “Maybe the son’s a liar. Maybe they’ve just moved him to a safer place.”
[The paragraph that follows is taken from an editorial published yesterday on the website of The Washington Times. Comment seems superfluous:]
Regime change doesn’t end US focus on this North African nation. The United States has an interest in the fate of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi, who was released from a British prison in 2009 on supposed humanitarian grounds after a faked cancer diagnosis claimed he had just weeks to live. Al-Megrahi was last seen on July 26 at a pro-Gadhafi rally. The murderer should not die in freedom.
The Scottish justice secretary said officials are trying to contact Libyan rebel leaders as part of efforts to track down the Lockerbie bomber.
Kenny MacAskill said attempts are being made to reach the National Transitional Council (NTC) while fighting continues in Tripoli. Mr MacAskill released Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds two years ago after medical advice that the prisoner was three months from death. [RB: Three months from death was said to be a reasonable prognosis if he remained in prison in Scotland.]
As part of the terms, Megrahi is supposed to check in with officials at East Renfrewshire Council, but he has not been reached since fighting broke out in Tripoli. There have been growing calls in the US for Megrahi to be extradited there in the wake of the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
But yesterday Mr MacAskill said: "Mr Megrahi is a Scottish prisoner. He's been released on licence in terms of the law that applies in Scotland.
"He remains a Scottish prisoner having been convicted by a Scottish court, albeit one that sat in the Netherlands, but it did so after the intervention of the United Nations, of Nelson Mandela and others, and he was tried by international agreement under the laws of Scotland."
He added: "There are obligations that go with him being a Scottish prisoner released on licence. But whilst we're in a war zone, which is accepted by everybody, I think we need to wait and see what happens there."
Asked if the Scottish Government is seeking contact with the NTC about Megrahi, Mr MacAskill said: "We're entering into communications. These matters are difficult, but we're seeking to make sure that we lock on to the authorities. But at present there is some doubt as to just which parts of Tripoli are controlled by whom. So, we seek to enter into discussions with the appropriate authorities."
He offered his support to council officials trying to contact Megrahi but said the "dust of battle" will have to settle before the picture is clear.
[The following, from an item posted yesterday on this blog, perhaps gives a more accurate picture than that painted above:]
A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: “The next appointed date for scheduled contact with Al-Megrahi by the criminal justice social work service of East Renfrewshire Council is not for some time.
“He has not been in breach of his licence conditions to date, and if these circumstances were to change then that would be a matter for discussion with the new duly constituted authorities in Libya.
“As the Justice Secretary has said, we have already established a line of communication with the National Transitional Council in London.” A spokesman for Mr MacAskill added that Megrahi had never been under house arrest as part of his release conditions and was allowed to come and go from his property in Tripoli.
[A report in today's edition of The Herald contains the following:]
It is East Renfrewshire that will determine whether the convicted terrorist has breached the terms of his release licence. These include keeping in regular contact and producing monthly medical reports.
However, it is thought the Scottish Government would ensure the Libyan was recalled to prison, if it was deemed he had breached his licence. (...)
In the US, there are growing calls for Megrahi to be reincarcerated, with some senators and relatives of the bombing victims demanding his extradition to the US to stand trial there.
The Herald has been told that, on the ground in Libya, a race is now on between US and UK special forces to find and seize the convicted terrorist.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Gordon Brown has been rebuffed in his attempt to get a UK Government report on Megrahi changed.
In February, Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, concluded the Labour Government did “all it could” to facilitate the Libyan’s release. In six strongly-worded letters Mr Brown insisted he “did not propose, initiate, lead, adopt, or even know of a policy called facilitation” in relation to Megrahi. But Sir Gus said Government papers showed “facilitation” was the policy agreed by UK ministers. He has refused to change his report.
[The following are extracts from a report to be found behind the paywall in today's edition of The Times:]
The Times twice went to al-Megrahi’s high-walled mansion in a war-torn area of Tripoli yesterday and was told first by his brother and then by his son that he had gone. They suggested that he was either at Tripoli central hospital or at his mother’s home near the Bab al-Aziziya compound, Colonel Gaddafi’s former stronghold. The Times visited both but he was not at either. His mother’s modest house was locked up and neighbours said that the family had left many days ago. (...)
Al-Megrahi’s son, Khalid, 25, said that he was afraid the rebel National Transitional Council would hand his father back to the Scottish authorities. When asked about those calling for his reimprisonment, he replied: “Shame on them. He’s a human being. He’s very sick. What’s the point of him going back? He will die, and they’re the ones who sent him back to Tripoli in the first place.”
Al-Megrahi’s brother, Abdul Nasser, 53, ridiculed the idea of his returning to a Scottish prison, saying that he would never survive the journey. He would not let The Times into the house.
Both insisted that al-Megrahi, 58, was a very sick man who now spent most of his time in bed. He could no longer go to the toilet alone, was fed by intravenous drip, found it hard to talk and used an oxygen mask. “Last month the doctor came and said his medicines didn’t work any more,” they said. (...)
Khalid al-Megrahi said that his father left for the hospital last Friday, accompanied by his nurse. “We don’t know if he’s still there or even alive. We can’t get through to him,” he said, adding that he might have gone on to his mother’s house.
A doctor who lives nearby told The Times: “Maybe the son’s a liar. Maybe they’ve just moved him to a safer place.”
[The paragraph that follows is taken from an editorial published yesterday on the website of The Washington Times. Comment seems superfluous:]
Regime change doesn’t end US focus on this North African nation. The United States has an interest in the fate of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi, who was released from a British prison in 2009 on supposed humanitarian grounds after a faked cancer diagnosis claimed he had just weeks to live. Al-Megrahi was last seen on July 26 at a pro-Gadhafi rally. The murderer should not die in freedom.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Megrahi 'flees Tripoli with Col Gaddafi' rumour
[The following are excerpts from a report published this evening on The Telegraph website:]
Standing outside the smart modern two-storey villa belonging to Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in the upmarket Hay Damascus suburb of Tripoli, [neighbours] said he had not been seen since the rebels’ sudden advance on the capital. (...)
“This man knows too many things,” Hussein Barba, a Canadian-educated doctor who lives behind Mr Megrahi’s house said. “Gaddafi has taken him with him, wherever he is.”
Some neighbours said they believed that Mr Megrahi’s wife was still living in the house. Though resolutely anti-Gaddafi, they also demonstrated Mr Megrahi’s ambiguous position in a society where many believe he is innocent of the accusation of placing the suitcase bomb on Pan-Am 103, killing 270 people, in December 1988.
They said they had promised to protect his house while he was away and prevent anyone trying to get in, whether or not his wife was still there.
One said his son was still living in the area – along with his father’s BMW – and staying with friends, though he refused to say where. “He goes from place to place to check on things,” he said. “He was an ordinary person, not involved with the government. He had no reason to leave.”
The Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, said officials were trying to contact rebel leaders in Libya to ensure Mr Megrahi would continue with the monitoring that was a requirement under the terms of his early release from prison on compassionate grounds. (...)
“Tripoli and Libya is a war zone and until the dust of battle settles I think we have to allow them to continue to make the efforts that they’re doing,” he said.
“Hospitals are overrun, the British embassy is having difficulties operating, so I think East Renfrewshire have done a good job to date and I fully support them in the efforts they’re making.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: “The next appointed date for scheduled contact with Al-Megrahi by the criminal justice social work service of East Renfrewshire Council is not for some time.
“He has not been in breach of his licence conditions to date, and if these circumstances were to change then that would be a matter for discussion with the new duly constituted authorities in Libya.
“As the Justice Secretary has said, we have already established a line of communication with the National Transitional Council in London.” A spokesman for Mr MacAskill added that Megrahi had never been under house arrest as part of his release conditions and was allowed to come and go from his property in Tripoli.
Standing outside the smart modern two-storey villa belonging to Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in the upmarket Hay Damascus suburb of Tripoli, [neighbours] said he had not been seen since the rebels’ sudden advance on the capital. (...)
“This man knows too many things,” Hussein Barba, a Canadian-educated doctor who lives behind Mr Megrahi’s house said. “Gaddafi has taken him with him, wherever he is.”
Some neighbours said they believed that Mr Megrahi’s wife was still living in the house. Though resolutely anti-Gaddafi, they also demonstrated Mr Megrahi’s ambiguous position in a society where many believe he is innocent of the accusation of placing the suitcase bomb on Pan-Am 103, killing 270 people, in December 1988.
They said they had promised to protect his house while he was away and prevent anyone trying to get in, whether or not his wife was still there.
One said his son was still living in the area – along with his father’s BMW – and staying with friends, though he refused to say where. “He goes from place to place to check on things,” he said. “He was an ordinary person, not involved with the government. He had no reason to leave.”
The Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, said officials were trying to contact rebel leaders in Libya to ensure Mr Megrahi would continue with the monitoring that was a requirement under the terms of his early release from prison on compassionate grounds. (...)
“Tripoli and Libya is a war zone and until the dust of battle settles I think we have to allow them to continue to make the efforts that they’re doing,” he said.
“Hospitals are overrun, the British embassy is having difficulties operating, so I think East Renfrewshire have done a good job to date and I fully support them in the efforts they’re making.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: “The next appointed date for scheduled contact with Al-Megrahi by the criminal justice social work service of East Renfrewshire Council is not for some time.
“He has not been in breach of his licence conditions to date, and if these circumstances were to change then that would be a matter for discussion with the new duly constituted authorities in Libya.
“As the Justice Secretary has said, we have already established a line of communication with the National Transitional Council in London.” A spokesman for Mr MacAskill added that Megrahi had never been under house arrest as part of his release conditions and was allowed to come and go from his property in Tripoli.
Scottish officials 'trying to trace Megrahi'
[This is the headline over a report published this afternoon on the website of The Independent. It reads in part:]
The Scottish Justice Secretary said officials are trying to contact Libyan rebel leaders as part of efforts to track down the Lockerbie bomber.
Kenny MacAskill said attempts are being made to reach the National Transitional Council (NTC) while fighting continues in Tripoli. (...)
Asked if the Scottish Government is seeking contact with the NTC about Megrahi, Mr MacAskill said: "We're entering into communications. These matters are difficult, but we're seeking to make sure that we lock on to the authorities.
"But at the present moment there is some doubt as to just which parts of Tripoli are controlled by whom. So, we seek to enter into discussions with the appropriate authorities."
He offered his support to [East Renfrewshire] council officials trying to contact Megrahi but said the "dust of battle" will have to settle before the picture is clear.
Earlier this week, council leader Jim Fletcher said his officials are in "uncharted water" in trying to track Megrahi.
Mr MacAskill, who was visiting a school in Edinburgh, said: "Tripoli and Libya is a war zone and until the dust of battle settles I think we have to allow them to continue to make the efforts that they're doing.
"Hospitals are over-run, the British embassy is having difficulties operating, so I think East Renfrewshire have done a good job to date and I fully support them in the efforts they're making."
He added: "Everybody is welcoming the fall of the Gaddafi regime - even those who welcomed him and glad-handed him or sold him weapons are delighted at what looks to be his imminent demise.
"But the primary responsibility, from what I hear from the NTC, is the saving of lives in Tripoli and Libya."
Calls have been made to extradite Megrahi from Libya to the US or bring him back to jail in Scotland.
Mr MacAskill said: "Mr Megrahi is a Scottish prisoner. He's been released on licence in terms of the law that applies in Scotland.
"He remains a Scottish prisoner having been convicted by a Scottish court, albeit one that sat in the Netherlands, but it did so after the intervention of the United Nations, of Nelson Mandela and others, and he was tried by international agreement under the laws of Scotland."
He added: "There are obligations that go with him being a Scottish prisoner released on licence. But whilst we're in a war zone, which is accepted by everybody, I think we need to wait and see what happens there."
The Scottish Justice Secretary said officials are trying to contact Libyan rebel leaders as part of efforts to track down the Lockerbie bomber.
Kenny MacAskill said attempts are being made to reach the National Transitional Council (NTC) while fighting continues in Tripoli. (...)
Asked if the Scottish Government is seeking contact with the NTC about Megrahi, Mr MacAskill said: "We're entering into communications. These matters are difficult, but we're seeking to make sure that we lock on to the authorities.
"But at the present moment there is some doubt as to just which parts of Tripoli are controlled by whom. So, we seek to enter into discussions with the appropriate authorities."
He offered his support to [East Renfrewshire] council officials trying to contact Megrahi but said the "dust of battle" will have to settle before the picture is clear.
Earlier this week, council leader Jim Fletcher said his officials are in "uncharted water" in trying to track Megrahi.
Mr MacAskill, who was visiting a school in Edinburgh, said: "Tripoli and Libya is a war zone and until the dust of battle settles I think we have to allow them to continue to make the efforts that they're doing.
"Hospitals are over-run, the British embassy is having difficulties operating, so I think East Renfrewshire have done a good job to date and I fully support them in the efforts they're making."
He added: "Everybody is welcoming the fall of the Gaddafi regime - even those who welcomed him and glad-handed him or sold him weapons are delighted at what looks to be his imminent demise.
"But the primary responsibility, from what I hear from the NTC, is the saving of lives in Tripoli and Libya."
Calls have been made to extradite Megrahi from Libya to the US or bring him back to jail in Scotland.
Mr MacAskill said: "Mr Megrahi is a Scottish prisoner. He's been released on licence in terms of the law that applies in Scotland.
"He remains a Scottish prisoner having been convicted by a Scottish court, albeit one that sat in the Netherlands, but it did so after the intervention of the United Nations, of Nelson Mandela and others, and he was tried by international agreement under the laws of Scotland."
He added: "There are obligations that go with him being a Scottish prisoner released on licence. But whilst we're in a war zone, which is accepted by everybody, I think we need to wait and see what happens there."
Hounding the innocent and dancing on the graves of the dead
[This is the headline over an article by G A Ponsonby published today on the Newsnet Scotland website. It reads in part:]
These last few days the conflict in Libya has dominated the airwaves. The awful dictator Muammar Gadaffi has been removed from power and all that remains of his crumbling regime are pockets of resistance as a few loyal soldiers fight to the finish.
The demise of the man who was second only to the late Saddam Hussein for the title of most irritating thorn in America’s side has been swift. A million dollar bounty now hangs over his head and only the most loyal of followers will resist the temptation to take the cash and make a run for it.
But as with all silver linings there hangs a cloud of despair. No, not just the anarchy that will surely envelope the streets of Tripoli and other cities and towns in Libya as old tribal scores are settled, but the sad ‘stalking’ of a dying and almost certainly innocent man by what passes for a media in Scotland.
Turn on a radio, switch on a TV or open a newspaper over the last few days and you will almost certainly be confronted with a headline proclaiming the hunt for a famous Libyan.
This is Scotland though, and whilst the world watches and listens for news of Gadaffi, we Scots are pelted with the same festering rhetorical dung that has so blemished the memory of the poor souls who perished in the bombing of Pan Am 103 - our journalists and reporters have turned into 'Megrahi stalkers'.
Let’s put one thing on the record here. This isn’t an attempt at changing the minds of those honest people who genuinely disagreed with the decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. There are very good reasons for many people to disagree with the decision, just as there are very good reasons for people to endorse Kenny MacAskill’s decision.
What this article is about is exposing the phoney journalism that pervades Scotland’s dying media outlets and has left such a stain on the memory of the victims of Lockerbie. When Megrahi was released in 2009 there were repeated claims from the opposition politicians that their ‘outrage’ was in part due to the suffering that the release would undoubtedly have on relatives of the victims.
However, instead of allowing the issue to draw to a natural close, many of these rapscallions have persisted in dredging the tragedy up again and again. What’s worse, rather than focus on the mounting evidence that the man, used by Gadaffi as a patsy in order to end sanctions on Libya, was almost certainly falsely convicted, they have instead sought to traduce the reputation of Dr Andrew Fraser in order to make political capital out of the tragedy.
There are far too many examples of these attacks to mention. Literally scores of BBC Scotland news items and bulletins since the weekend have contained attacks on the compassionate release and continued survival of Megrahi. When one BBC Scotland reporter calls the compassionate release of Al-Megrahi “The Lockerbie conspiracy” you know that things are deteriorating again at Pacific Quay. (...)
Nick Clegg, David Cameron, William Hague, George Foulkes, Gordon Banks, Iain Gray, Dr Richard Simpson and many more – an alliance of Lib Dem, Tory and Labour all joining right wing poorly informed US politicians.
Megrahi has survived two years against the odds. Imprisoned after being used as a convenient patsy by the Libyan and US/UK administrations keen to end sanctions and trade oil, he is nearing death.
If the reported findings of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission are to be believed he is also almost certainly innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. He now lies terminally ill somewhere in a country wracked by civil war and with the knowledge that those responsible for providing the ‘evidence’ on which his conviction relied are keen to find him.
Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the Lockerbie bombing, has said he now fears for Megrahi’s safety and believes the Libyan may be assassinated or snatched by the US. Mr Swire believes, as many do, that Megrahi is innocent.
The innocent are being hounded by people who are now dancing in delirium on the graves of the dead, oil and blood dripping from their hands.
“They’ve lost the Lockerbie bomber” announced Jackie Bird on last night’s late BBC Scotland news bulletin.
If only we had Jackie, if only we had … the Lockerbie bomber was lost when the US decided to switch the attention of their initial investigation from Syrian backed terrorists to oil rich Libya.
[Another compelling article on the subject by Judith Jaafar is to be found in today's edition of the Scottish Review. It is headed "If he is killed or jailed, will the truth about Lockerbie ever come out?" A contribution by Bob Low on the same page is also well worth reading.]
These last few days the conflict in Libya has dominated the airwaves. The awful dictator Muammar Gadaffi has been removed from power and all that remains of his crumbling regime are pockets of resistance as a few loyal soldiers fight to the finish.
The demise of the man who was second only to the late Saddam Hussein for the title of most irritating thorn in America’s side has been swift. A million dollar bounty now hangs over his head and only the most loyal of followers will resist the temptation to take the cash and make a run for it.
But as with all silver linings there hangs a cloud of despair. No, not just the anarchy that will surely envelope the streets of Tripoli and other cities and towns in Libya as old tribal scores are settled, but the sad ‘stalking’ of a dying and almost certainly innocent man by what passes for a media in Scotland.
Turn on a radio, switch on a TV or open a newspaper over the last few days and you will almost certainly be confronted with a headline proclaiming the hunt for a famous Libyan.
This is Scotland though, and whilst the world watches and listens for news of Gadaffi, we Scots are pelted with the same festering rhetorical dung that has so blemished the memory of the poor souls who perished in the bombing of Pan Am 103 - our journalists and reporters have turned into 'Megrahi stalkers'.
Let’s put one thing on the record here. This isn’t an attempt at changing the minds of those honest people who genuinely disagreed with the decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. There are very good reasons for many people to disagree with the decision, just as there are very good reasons for people to endorse Kenny MacAskill’s decision.
What this article is about is exposing the phoney journalism that pervades Scotland’s dying media outlets and has left such a stain on the memory of the victims of Lockerbie. When Megrahi was released in 2009 there were repeated claims from the opposition politicians that their ‘outrage’ was in part due to the suffering that the release would undoubtedly have on relatives of the victims.
However, instead of allowing the issue to draw to a natural close, many of these rapscallions have persisted in dredging the tragedy up again and again. What’s worse, rather than focus on the mounting evidence that the man, used by Gadaffi as a patsy in order to end sanctions on Libya, was almost certainly falsely convicted, they have instead sought to traduce the reputation of Dr Andrew Fraser in order to make political capital out of the tragedy.
There are far too many examples of these attacks to mention. Literally scores of BBC Scotland news items and bulletins since the weekend have contained attacks on the compassionate release and continued survival of Megrahi. When one BBC Scotland reporter calls the compassionate release of Al-Megrahi “The Lockerbie conspiracy” you know that things are deteriorating again at Pacific Quay. (...)
Nick Clegg, David Cameron, William Hague, George Foulkes, Gordon Banks, Iain Gray, Dr Richard Simpson and many more – an alliance of Lib Dem, Tory and Labour all joining right wing poorly informed US politicians.
Megrahi has survived two years against the odds. Imprisoned after being used as a convenient patsy by the Libyan and US/UK administrations keen to end sanctions and trade oil, he is nearing death.
If the reported findings of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission are to be believed he is also almost certainly innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. He now lies terminally ill somewhere in a country wracked by civil war and with the knowledge that those responsible for providing the ‘evidence’ on which his conviction relied are keen to find him.
Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the Lockerbie bombing, has said he now fears for Megrahi’s safety and believes the Libyan may be assassinated or snatched by the US. Mr Swire believes, as many do, that Megrahi is innocent.
The innocent are being hounded by people who are now dancing in delirium on the graves of the dead, oil and blood dripping from their hands.
“They’ve lost the Lockerbie bomber” announced Jackie Bird on last night’s late BBC Scotland news bulletin.
If only we had Jackie, if only we had … the Lockerbie bomber was lost when the US decided to switch the attention of their initial investigation from Syrian backed terrorists to oil rich Libya.
[Another compelling article on the subject by Judith Jaafar is to be found in today's edition of the Scottish Review. It is headed "If he is killed or jailed, will the truth about Lockerbie ever come out?" A contribution by Bob Low on the same page is also well worth reading.]
Megrahi return to jail "illegal and preposterous"
[What follow are excerpts from a report headlined Search for al-Megrahi as Scottish officials lose touch behind the paywall in today's edition of The Times:]
Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, used a visit to Edinburgh yesterday to say that he also believed al-Megrahi should be in jail. “My personal view is that he should be behind bars, he was convicted of one of the most atrocious crimes committed in Britain.” Mr Clegg’s view is shared by David Cameron, who opposed the Scottish Government’s decision to allow al-Megrahi to return on Libya in 2009 on compassionate grounds.
Under the terms of his release, al-Megrahi is required to keep in regular contact with East Renfrewshire Council. Failure to do so could render him in breach of his parole conditions.
Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, refused to disclose what would happen to al-Megrahi when he is traced. “I can’t speculate on what might happen,” he said. “He has fully co-operated to date, and we have to accept that there are difficulties in Libya that are self-evident on our television screens, of hospitals bursting at the seams, of people fighting in the streets. I think some latitude has to be given.” US politicians including Mitt Romeny, the Republican presidential contender, have called for al-Megrahi to be extradited to the US once he is traced.
Paul McBride, QC, said that any attempt to capture al-Megrahi and return him to jail would be “illegal and preposterous”.
“What do the Americans want him for?” he asked. “He has been convicted in a court they approved of and released. Just because they don’t agree with the decision to release him doesn’t mean they can kidnap him, take him to their country and throw him in jail. That would be a similar situation to Guantanamo Bay.”
The legal difficulties associated with returning al-Megrahi to jail were also cited by Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary. Asked if the Lockerbie bomber should be sent back to prison, he said al-Megrahi would be the responsibility of the Libyan authorities once he was found. “There are technical but important legal issues given that he has already been convicted,” he said.
Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, used a visit to Edinburgh yesterday to say that he also believed al-Megrahi should be in jail. “My personal view is that he should be behind bars, he was convicted of one of the most atrocious crimes committed in Britain.” Mr Clegg’s view is shared by David Cameron, who opposed the Scottish Government’s decision to allow al-Megrahi to return on Libya in 2009 on compassionate grounds.
Under the terms of his release, al-Megrahi is required to keep in regular contact with East Renfrewshire Council. Failure to do so could render him in breach of his parole conditions.
Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, refused to disclose what would happen to al-Megrahi when he is traced. “I can’t speculate on what might happen,” he said. “He has fully co-operated to date, and we have to accept that there are difficulties in Libya that are self-evident on our television screens, of hospitals bursting at the seams, of people fighting in the streets. I think some latitude has to be given.” US politicians including Mitt Romeny, the Republican presidential contender, have called for al-Megrahi to be extradited to the US once he is traced.
Paul McBride, QC, said that any attempt to capture al-Megrahi and return him to jail would be “illegal and preposterous”.
“What do the Americans want him for?” he asked. “He has been convicted in a court they approved of and released. Just because they don’t agree with the decision to release him doesn’t mean they can kidnap him, take him to their country and throw him in jail. That would be a similar situation to Guantanamo Bay.”
The legal difficulties associated with returning al-Megrahi to jail were also cited by Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary. Asked if the Lockerbie bomber should be sent back to prison, he said al-Megrahi would be the responsibility of the Libyan authorities once he was found. “There are technical but important legal issues given that he has already been convicted,” he said.
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