The justice secretary has said he intends to release many of the papers connected to the dropped appeal of the Lockerbie bomber.
Kenny MacAskill wants to release papers connected with the recommendation of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission's (SCCRC) findings that the conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi for blowing up Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 may have been unsafe.
A 14-page summary has been published and 800 pages of reasoning and 13 volumes of appendices cannot, at present, be made public. The minister is set to have discussions this week with the chairwoman of the SCCRC, Jean Couper, to look at what can be released.
He said: "There are matters that have to be reviewed here. We have to make sure we don't compromise anybody's security, and that could come about, that we don't lay people open to defamation.
"We have always said we are more than happy to publish everything relevant, where appropriate consents are given."
He added: "I give you a clear assurance we have nothing to hide. We are happy to co-operate with any inquiry, any jurisdiction, and we're happy to make sure we publish as much as we can, as long as it does not interfere or undermine the appropriate rights or sensitivities of others." (...)
Concerns were also raised by law professor Robert Black, who was the architect of the Camp Zeist trial and has long believed that Megrahi is innocent.
He said that publication was "better than nothing", but did not go nearly far enough.
"The problem is that those who agree with the conviction will say, 'Well, the evidence hasn't been properly tested', and those who disagree with it will simply have their views confirmed," Prof Black said.
"What we needed was an appeal, and now that will not go ahead, we need a public inquiry."
He added: "We have to remember that much of the documentation could not be published.
"Some of it was not even made available to the defence, because the UK government put a public interest immunity certificate on it."
[The above are excerpts from an article in today's edition of The Scotsman.]
MISSION LOCKERBIE:
ReplyDeleteAttention: On Swiss TV, SF1, "RUNDSCHAU" Lockerbie assassin: new doubts about Libyan debt! on 09.09.2009, Swiss time 20:50
also on Internet!
SECRET LOCKERBIE PAPERS COULD SOON BE RELEASED
MEBO and its owner Edwin Bollier, approved of Secretary of justice, Mr. MacAskill that all, exoneration of proofs, delivered from MEBO to the SCCRC, can be published.
by Edwin and Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Ltd., Switzerland
It's only by showing us all the papers that can assure us that the US/UK government didn't deliberately frame an innocent and the Scottish judiciary didn't conspire to imprison an innocent man.
ReplyDeleteBy selecting only certain documents Mr MacAskill distorts the truth.
Very often PII is used in criminal cases in English courts not to hide investigation techniques and so on but to hide the role of government agencies in crime.
ReplyDeleteOn an unrelated matter may I draw the attention of readers to the timely broadcast at 5 p.m. today on the freeview Yesterday channel (repeated 9 p.m. on Sky and Virgin) of the second part of Peter Taylor's "The Age of Terror".
ReplyDeleteThis deals with the seizure of the Eksund and the Enniskillin massacre, events I believe may cast light on the creation of the "Libyan solution" to Lockerbie as well as the current controversy.