[The following is the text of an e-mail from Dr Jim Swire arising out of a discussion with Dr Ludwig de Braeckeleer (author of the Diary of a Vengeance Foretold series of articles on Lockerbie) about the bombing of Swissair flight 330 in 1970.]
If Swissair was a Khreesat bomb, I think the flight time would be around 35-40 minutes from take-off. There is also a flight which flew for 7 minutes before an IED went off, that was in the 70s I believe. That was interesting because the baro-switches took about 7 minutes to switch 'on'. Presumably the PFLP-GC soon realised that they needed the Baro switch to start a timer going, to lengthen the flight time, instead of firing the detonator directly; so they started manufacturing their crude analogue 'ice cube' timers in Damascus, as explained to the court by Herr Gobel.
That then meant a total flight time of around 35-40 minutes as at Lockerbie, since all the ice cube timers that Gobel knew of ran for about 30 minutes. The court heard the report from Marshman of his interview with Khreesat, who declined to appear in person (or maybe was ordered not to). Marshman claimed that Khreesat told him that he had rendered all his devices inert, claiming that this meant it was unlikely that one of his IEDs had caused Lockerbie. In its summing up the court never commented on the evidence of Herr Gobel that the BKA explosives unit had lost an officer when a Khreesat bomb was being dismantled and exploded in his face.
Curious kind of harmlessness.
I was never convinced that their Lordships understood the mechanism of Khreesat's devices. Technology is not their thing perhaps. At the first appeal I think Lord Osborne suggested that the break-in was too long before Lockerbie to be likely to be relevant. In fact, such a delay was classic for the use of a Khreesat IED, which were perfectly fitted to the 'break-in-and-then-wait-a-bit' scenario. The use of the baro switch to start off the timer was designed with exactly that sort of scenario in mind: the latent period could be anything you liked, weeks or months if required, since no battery power at all was required until 7 minutes after take-off, when the timer was started by the baro switch.
As you know a fully armed Khreesat device could not have been flown in from Frankfurt, since there was no time to arm one if it had arrived on PA103A, which was late that night. Any terrorist worth his salt would be reluctant to fiddle with someone else's IED either.
It therefore seems to me that the IED was a Khreesat model and brought, fully armed and in its suitcase overland to Heathrow through the break-in the night before Lockerbie, and probably left with a message for the IranAir guys at Heathrow to slip into Bedford's baggage container, where he saw it, well before the Frankfurt flight had even landed at Heathrow.on the 21st.
Khreesat seems so central to what really happened: his unique IED was a perfect fit for Lockerbie.
Also don't forget that the BKA arrested him in 'Autumn Leaves' with a completed IED in the boot (=US trunk) of his car, yet after a phone call to Amman he was released, and never charged with plotting to blow up an aircraft.
To accept the interview hearsay evidence from a US officer (Marshman), knowing that Khreesat commanded such significance that he was fully protected from German law, (indicating his usefulness to Western intelligence services) was one of the more obvious naivities of the Zeist court.
Even the introduction of PT35B, the timer circuit board fragment into the chain of 'evidence' seemed directed at ensuring that no one would be so foolish as to imagine that a Khreesat device had been used.
The one thing they could not interfere with was the fact of the flight time.
How did they engineer that the break-in was concealed from the trial court till after the verdict? Even then the world only learned of it because of (the late) Manly's incredulity that his discovery had been ignored by the court.
The Scottish police working on the HOLMES computer system of the Met simply must have known about the break-in. It appears that the Crown Office did not know, since they have committed themselves in writing tp me that they did not know. Iain McKie has no difficulty believing that the break-in evidence was suppressed because it did not fit the favoured theory about Malta and Libya.
I don't understand why Khreesat had to be protected in this way, unless it was just that he was inconvenient to the Malta/Libya fable. Trouble is the 38 minute flight time makes no sense unless it was a Khreesat IED, which explains it so neatly.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Further expert professional support for Lockerbie enquiry
I agree entirely with Steven Raeburn's criticism of the Lockerbie conviction. Scotland has, unlike England, a poor record historically of putting right miscarriages of justice. There should now be a full enquiry.
"There's nane ever fear'd that the truth should be heard,
But they whom the truth would indite."
[A comment posted by George More on the website of Scottish lawyers' magazine The Firm. The Robert Burns poem from which the couplet is taken can be read here.]
"There's nane ever fear'd that the truth should be heard,
But they whom the truth would indite."
[A comment posted by George More on the website of Scottish lawyers' magazine The Firm. The Robert Burns poem from which the couplet is taken can be read here.]
Libya: connect the dots and you get a giant dollar sign
[I an grateful to a reader of this blog for drawing my attention to a long article with the above title by Russ Baker published yesterday on the Business Insider website. The following are extracts:]
This February, several days after Hosni Mubarak resigned in Egypt, civil protest began in neighboring Libya. Quickly, Muammar Qaddafi’s Justice Minister turned against him and became a rebel leader. And, he made the dramatic claim that his ex-boss was the culprit behind the bombing of Pan Am 103:
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ordered the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, a former Libyan cabinet minister was quoted as saying by a Swedish newspaper on Wednesday.
Former Justice Minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud Al Jeleil, reported to have resigned this week over the violence used by the government against protesters, told the tabloid Expressen he had evidence Gaddafi ordered the bombing that killed 270 people.
“I have proof that Gaddafi gave the order for (the) Lockerbie (bombing),” Expressen quoted Al Jeleil as saying in an interview at an undisclosed large town in Libya.
The newspaper did not say what the evidence of Gaddafi’s involvement in the bombing was.
A Libyan, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, was tried and jailed in Scotland for the bombing, and Gaddafi, in power since 1969, was branded an international pariah for years.
In 2009, the Scottish government freed al-Megrahi on humanitarian grounds after doctors said he had terminal prostate cancer, a decision strongly criticized by the United States. He returned to Libya and is still alive.
“In order to conceal it (his role in ordering the bombing), he did everything in his power to get Megrahi back from Scotland,” al Jeleil was quoted as saying.
“He (Gaddafi) ordered Megrahi to do it.”
This story made it into major news media throughout the world, without anyone stopping to raise questions about the propaganda benefit of the statement, or of the timing. For example, the UK paper, The Telegraph, interviewed Jeleil/Jalil:
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the provisional rebel government in Benghazi and Libya’s former justice minister, said he had evidence of Gaddafi’s involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie.
“The orders were given by Gaddafi himself,” he told Rob Crilly.
Mr Abel Jalil claimed he had evidence that convicted bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi worked for Gaddafi.
“This evidence is in our hands and we have documents that prove what I have said and we are ready to hand them over to the international criminal court,” he added.
Since then, I haven’t seen any sign that Jalil’s evidence has been shown to anyone. So we don’t know that it actually exists, or that he was telling the truth. But the original headlines did the trick—anyone watching television or reading stories then would have been led to believe that Qaddafi was behind this dastardly deed.
A couple of days later, for the first time, President Obama called for Qaddafi to step down. And not long thereafter, the US, UK and their allies were getting ready to pitch military action against Qaddafi, originally characterized as solely humanitarian, “to protect civilians.” (Eventually, the top British military figure would indiscreetly admit that the relentless bombing was intended to remove the Libyan leader.)
We’ll get back to the propaganda machine and its effectiveness later, but let’s now examine the relationship between the Western governments and Qaddafi. Was it, as presented in the media, merely a case of doing the right thing against a brutal tyrant? One also accused of being behind the murder of those airline passengers? (...)
But the thing that turned much of the world against Qaddafi was the alleged role of Libya in blowing Pan Am 103 apart.
Most of us probably remember, vaguely, that Libya’s role in that is an established fact. If so, we’re off base. Let’s start with this 2001 BBC report, following the conviction of Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer:
Robert Black, the Scottish law professor who devised the format of the Netherlands-based trial, was quoted on Sunday as saying he was “absolutely astounded” that Al Megrahi had been found guilty.
Mr Black said he believed the prosecution had “a very, very weak circumstantial case” and he was reluctant to believe that Scottish judges would “convict anyone, even a Libyan” on such evidence.
The view, published in British newspapers, echoes that of some of the families of UK victims of the Lockerbie bombing, who are calling for a public inquiry to find “the truth of who was responsible and what the motive was”. (...)
For more on doubts about Libya’s role in the bombing, see the excellent summary of powerful evidence that the Libyans may have been framed, evidence not presented at trial, on Wikipedia. (While Wikipedia should not be considered a definitive source, it is often a good roundup of what may be found elsewhere and thus a starting point for further inquiry.) The troubling elements, which constitute a very long list, include an alleged offer from the FBI of $4 million for certain incriminating testimony, the subsequent admission by a key witness that he had lied, details of strange goings-on in the FBI’s crime lab, and indications that the bomb may have been introduced at an airport where the defendant was not present.
Nevertheless, Megrahi’s conviction, and the media’s dutiful reporting of it as justice done, meant that Libya, and Qaddafi, would continue under sanctions that had already isolated the country for a decade from the international community.
This February, several days after Hosni Mubarak resigned in Egypt, civil protest began in neighboring Libya. Quickly, Muammar Qaddafi’s Justice Minister turned against him and became a rebel leader. And, he made the dramatic claim that his ex-boss was the culprit behind the bombing of Pan Am 103:
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ordered the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, a former Libyan cabinet minister was quoted as saying by a Swedish newspaper on Wednesday.
Former Justice Minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud Al Jeleil, reported to have resigned this week over the violence used by the government against protesters, told the tabloid Expressen he had evidence Gaddafi ordered the bombing that killed 270 people.
“I have proof that Gaddafi gave the order for (the) Lockerbie (bombing),” Expressen quoted Al Jeleil as saying in an interview at an undisclosed large town in Libya.
The newspaper did not say what the evidence of Gaddafi’s involvement in the bombing was.
A Libyan, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, was tried and jailed in Scotland for the bombing, and Gaddafi, in power since 1969, was branded an international pariah for years.
In 2009, the Scottish government freed al-Megrahi on humanitarian grounds after doctors said he had terminal prostate cancer, a decision strongly criticized by the United States. He returned to Libya and is still alive.
“In order to conceal it (his role in ordering the bombing), he did everything in his power to get Megrahi back from Scotland,” al Jeleil was quoted as saying.
“He (Gaddafi) ordered Megrahi to do it.”
This story made it into major news media throughout the world, without anyone stopping to raise questions about the propaganda benefit of the statement, or of the timing. For example, the UK paper, The Telegraph, interviewed Jeleil/Jalil:
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the provisional rebel government in Benghazi and Libya’s former justice minister, said he had evidence of Gaddafi’s involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie.
“The orders were given by Gaddafi himself,” he told Rob Crilly.
Mr Abel Jalil claimed he had evidence that convicted bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi worked for Gaddafi.
“This evidence is in our hands and we have documents that prove what I have said and we are ready to hand them over to the international criminal court,” he added.
Since then, I haven’t seen any sign that Jalil’s evidence has been shown to anyone. So we don’t know that it actually exists, or that he was telling the truth. But the original headlines did the trick—anyone watching television or reading stories then would have been led to believe that Qaddafi was behind this dastardly deed.
A couple of days later, for the first time, President Obama called for Qaddafi to step down. And not long thereafter, the US, UK and their allies were getting ready to pitch military action against Qaddafi, originally characterized as solely humanitarian, “to protect civilians.” (Eventually, the top British military figure would indiscreetly admit that the relentless bombing was intended to remove the Libyan leader.)
We’ll get back to the propaganda machine and its effectiveness later, but let’s now examine the relationship between the Western governments and Qaddafi. Was it, as presented in the media, merely a case of doing the right thing against a brutal tyrant? One also accused of being behind the murder of those airline passengers? (...)
But the thing that turned much of the world against Qaddafi was the alleged role of Libya in blowing Pan Am 103 apart.
Most of us probably remember, vaguely, that Libya’s role in that is an established fact. If so, we’re off base. Let’s start with this 2001 BBC report, following the conviction of Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer:
Robert Black, the Scottish law professor who devised the format of the Netherlands-based trial, was quoted on Sunday as saying he was “absolutely astounded” that Al Megrahi had been found guilty.
Mr Black said he believed the prosecution had “a very, very weak circumstantial case” and he was reluctant to believe that Scottish judges would “convict anyone, even a Libyan” on such evidence.
The view, published in British newspapers, echoes that of some of the families of UK victims of the Lockerbie bombing, who are calling for a public inquiry to find “the truth of who was responsible and what the motive was”. (...)
For more on doubts about Libya’s role in the bombing, see the excellent summary of powerful evidence that the Libyans may have been framed, evidence not presented at trial, on Wikipedia. (While Wikipedia should not be considered a definitive source, it is often a good roundup of what may be found elsewhere and thus a starting point for further inquiry.) The troubling elements, which constitute a very long list, include an alleged offer from the FBI of $4 million for certain incriminating testimony, the subsequent admission by a key witness that he had lied, details of strange goings-on in the FBI’s crime lab, and indications that the bomb may have been introduced at an airport where the defendant was not present.
Nevertheless, Megrahi’s conviction, and the media’s dutiful reporting of it as justice done, meant that Libya, and Qaddafi, would continue under sanctions that had already isolated the country for a decade from the international community.
Monday, 6 June 2011
WikiLeaks Megrahi cables in The Scotsman
[The Scotsman newspaper today runs a series of stories based on WikiLeaks cables covering US anticipation of and reaction to the compassionate release of Abdelbaset Megrahi in August 2009. The principal report, headlined Wikileaks: Inside story of Megrahi's return home, contains the following:]
Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi's motive for giving a hero's welcome to freed Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi is revealed today in secret US diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and seen by The Scotsman.
The cables reveal that the regime's handling of the homecoming was heavily influenced by Col Gaddafi's simmering resentment towards the West over the case of six Bulgarian nurses freed from a Libyan jail in 2007.
The nurses had been jailed for life for allegedly infecting 400 Libyan children with the HIV virus. European Union diplomats negotiated their release - but then reneged on a deal that the nurses should serve the rest of their sentences in jail in Bulgaria.
Col Gaddafi's lingering anger at this diplomatic "insult" is revealed in a cable, written by a diplomat, describing a meeting in Tripoli between the colonel and US senator John McCain, shortly before Megrahi's release. The Libyan leader refused to give any guarantees about the tenor of Megrahi's homecoming, the cable reports, despite Mr McCain's warning that a hero's welcome could severely damage Libya's new friendship with the United States.
Col Gaddafi cited the celebrations that met the nurses in Bulgaria after their release. (...)
The US government has criticised The Scotsman for its tie-up with WikiLeaks, saying: "Any unauthorised disclosure of classified material is regrettable as it has the potential to harm individuals as well as efforts to advance foreign policy goals."
But the cables provide valuable new insights into one of the most iconic moments in recent Scottish history. They reveal:
* The United States tried to add conditions to the Scottish terms of Megrahi's release, demanding he be imprisoned for the rest of his life in Libya following his compassionate release.
* Megrahi's homecoming and how to handle it became a tussle within the Libyan regime, between reformers who favoured friendlier ties with the West and hardliners who saw such moves as a weakening of Libya's strongman status.
* Western diplomats who urged a low-key return for Megrahi believed they had an ally in Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister who subsequently defected to the West shortly after Nato sided by the rebels in the Libyan uprising this spring.
* The triumphant return of Megrahi to Libya was in fact a much lower-key welcome than some hardliners planned, with a crowd of many thousands scaled down to a few hundred at the last minute.
[Further related reports in the same newspaper can be accessed here, as can the cables themselves, including one headed Demarche delivered, in which US diplomats in Tripoli are to be found urging Moussa Koussa to secure that Megrahi is imprisoned in Libya, notwithstanding the fact that his return was under compassionate release, not prisoner transfer. Moussa is reported to have "raised his eyebrows" at this point.]
Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi's motive for giving a hero's welcome to freed Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi is revealed today in secret US diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and seen by The Scotsman.
The cables reveal that the regime's handling of the homecoming was heavily influenced by Col Gaddafi's simmering resentment towards the West over the case of six Bulgarian nurses freed from a Libyan jail in 2007.
The nurses had been jailed for life for allegedly infecting 400 Libyan children with the HIV virus. European Union diplomats negotiated their release - but then reneged on a deal that the nurses should serve the rest of their sentences in jail in Bulgaria.
Col Gaddafi's lingering anger at this diplomatic "insult" is revealed in a cable, written by a diplomat, describing a meeting in Tripoli between the colonel and US senator John McCain, shortly before Megrahi's release. The Libyan leader refused to give any guarantees about the tenor of Megrahi's homecoming, the cable reports, despite Mr McCain's warning that a hero's welcome could severely damage Libya's new friendship with the United States.
Col Gaddafi cited the celebrations that met the nurses in Bulgaria after their release. (...)
The US government has criticised The Scotsman for its tie-up with WikiLeaks, saying: "Any unauthorised disclosure of classified material is regrettable as it has the potential to harm individuals as well as efforts to advance foreign policy goals."
But the cables provide valuable new insights into one of the most iconic moments in recent Scottish history. They reveal:
* The United States tried to add conditions to the Scottish terms of Megrahi's release, demanding he be imprisoned for the rest of his life in Libya following his compassionate release.
* Megrahi's homecoming and how to handle it became a tussle within the Libyan regime, between reformers who favoured friendlier ties with the West and hardliners who saw such moves as a weakening of Libya's strongman status.
* Western diplomats who urged a low-key return for Megrahi believed they had an ally in Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister who subsequently defected to the West shortly after Nato sided by the rebels in the Libyan uprising this spring.
* The triumphant return of Megrahi to Libya was in fact a much lower-key welcome than some hardliners planned, with a crowd of many thousands scaled down to a few hundred at the last minute.
[Further related reports in the same newspaper can be accessed here, as can the cables themselves, including one headed Demarche delivered, in which US diplomats in Tripoli are to be found urging Moussa Koussa to secure that Megrahi is imprisoned in Libya, notwithstanding the fact that his return was under compassionate release, not prisoner transfer. Moussa is reported to have "raised his eyebrows" at this point.]
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Megrahi in Skype contact with Scottish social workers
[The following is taken from a report just published on the News of the World website:]
Scots social workers are having weekly video chats with the Lockerbie bomber on Skype, we can reveal.
Mass murderer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is using the internet system to stay in touch with council staff as part of his release conditions.
The East Renfrewshire team get updates on his condition and make sure he is still at his home in Tripoli, Libya, by monitoring his computer's IP address. (...)
Since [his repatriation] he's been with his family in the Libyan capital - but sources say he's living in fear as the country's civil war rages.
[An] insider added: "Megrahi is terrified but he can't set foot outside Libya as he fears he'd be arrested. He has to stay home as part of his release conditions.
"It doesn't matter how bad things get there - he has to stay put."
An East Renfrewshire Council spokesman confirmed the video link last night. He said: "We are in direct contact with Mr Megrahi."
Scots social workers are having weekly video chats with the Lockerbie bomber on Skype, we can reveal.
Mass murderer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is using the internet system to stay in touch with council staff as part of his release conditions.
The East Renfrewshire team get updates on his condition and make sure he is still at his home in Tripoli, Libya, by monitoring his computer's IP address. (...)
Since [his repatriation] he's been with his family in the Libyan capital - but sources say he's living in fear as the country's civil war rages.
[An] insider added: "Megrahi is terrified but he can't set foot outside Libya as he fears he'd be arrested. He has to stay home as part of his release conditions.
"It doesn't matter how bad things get there - he has to stay put."
An East Renfrewshire Council spokesman confirmed the video link last night. He said: "We are in direct contact with Mr Megrahi."
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Message from Saif al-Islam
From: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi iamgood@voila.fr
My name is Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, the son of the present president of Libya. I am contacting you for an urgent assistance.
As you can read and see in the media, my family is presently undergoing tough time in the hand of the masses due to his long stay in power as the president of Libya for over 40 years now. Although there is no way you can satisfy human being, my father has done so many things to better the life of our people unfortunately they never appreciated his effort instead it resulted in calling my family bad names.
The International community has reached a resolution for immediate seizure of our assets both in US and the UK which the have already done and many other sanctions but it can’t affect our financial statue in the world. But as you can not predict tomorrow the say that is while I decided to reach you for this assistant hoping it will be top secret and you should avoid the media.
I want to request your humble assistance to receive a total sum of €22m.
I will not give you details of the fund now because of security reasons but just have in mind that the fund exit in one of the African countries.
You will receive this fund directly and keep it safe or invest it in any business of yours till this saga is over then I will get back to you on how the fund or profit will be shared. By the special grace of Allah nothing will happen to me.
If you are ready and will keep it top secret and avoid the media contact this email address (aarifqasif@hotmail.com) the details of where the fund exit and how it will be transferred will be made known to you through this email.
I know you may have little fear on you but it is risk free.
I know you will be in hurry to reply me but due to what my family is facing now and security reasons I will not be responding!!!!!!!.
All you need to do is to contact my representative with the email given to you and tell him that you received an email from Saif Al Islam Gaddafi and that you are willing to receive the fund.
Assalamu 'alaikum
Saif Al Islam Gaddafi
[I am terribly surprised and disappointed that Saif is offering considerably less than Moussa Koussa.]
My name is Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, the son of the present president of Libya. I am contacting you for an urgent assistance.
As you can read and see in the media, my family is presently undergoing tough time in the hand of the masses due to his long stay in power as the president of Libya for over 40 years now. Although there is no way you can satisfy human being, my father has done so many things to better the life of our people unfortunately they never appreciated his effort instead it resulted in calling my family bad names.
The International community has reached a resolution for immediate seizure of our assets both in US and the UK which the have already done and many other sanctions but it can’t affect our financial statue in the world. But as you can not predict tomorrow the say that is while I decided to reach you for this assistant hoping it will be top secret and you should avoid the media.
I want to request your humble assistance to receive a total sum of €22m.
I will not give you details of the fund now because of security reasons but just have in mind that the fund exit in one of the African countries.
You will receive this fund directly and keep it safe or invest it in any business of yours till this saga is over then I will get back to you on how the fund or profit will be shared. By the special grace of Allah nothing will happen to me.
If you are ready and will keep it top secret and avoid the media contact this email address (aarifqasif@hotmail.com) the details of where the fund exit and how it will be transferred will be made known to you through this email.
I know you may have little fear on you but it is risk free.
I know you will be in hurry to reply me but due to what my family is facing now and security reasons I will not be responding!!!!!!!.
All you need to do is to contact my representative with the email given to you and tell him that you received an email from Saif Al Islam Gaddafi and that you are willing to receive the fund.
Assalamu 'alaikum
Saif Al Islam Gaddafi
[I am terribly surprised and disappointed that Saif is offering considerably less than Moussa Koussa.]
Lockerbie lies
This is the heading over an item posted today on the website of the Libyan (Gaddafi regime-supporting) Mathaba news agency. It highlights John Pilger's article Megrahi was framed and a YouTube video featuring, amongst other things, an interview with me. The Mathaba item begins with the following (which even I regard as just a bit over the top):
"If anyone, including those lazy `journalists` think that Libya has anything at all to do with the Lockerbie bombing and terrorism, you had better view this. Only after you have viewed this, can you have any credibility to even mention the word `Lockerbie'."
"If anyone, including those lazy `journalists` think that Libya has anything at all to do with the Lockerbie bombing and terrorism, you had better view this. Only after you have viewed this, can you have any credibility to even mention the word `Lockerbie'."
Puppeteering from London, Washington, Tripoli and Edinburgh over Pan Am 103
The above is a tweet (@TheFirmOnline) by Steven Raeburn, editor of Scottish lawyers' magazine The Firm, following his appearance this morning on BBC Radio Scotland's Newsweek programme. The programme can be accessed here, through the magazine's website.
No sell-by date on justice, promises Lord Advocate
This is the headline over a report in today's edition of The Herald. For a brief instant, it crossed my mind that the promise might have some relevance to the Lockerbie case, the miscarriage of justice suffered by Abdelbaset Megrahi and the ongoing quest for truth and justice pursued by relatives of Lockerbie victims, such as Jim Swire, John Mosey, Matt Berkley and Marina Larracoechea. But no. The Lord Advocate's pledge is confined to "cold cases" where there has been no conviction.
In his press statement Frank Mulholland QC says:
“Justice will pursue down the years those who have so far evaded detection for their crimes. The passage of time should be no protection. No-one should escape the consequences of their criminality and the grief this brings to victims and their families.”
Would that that were true in the Lockerbie case.
In his press statement Frank Mulholland QC says:
“Justice will pursue down the years those who have so far evaded detection for their crimes. The passage of time should be no protection. No-one should escape the consequences of their criminality and the grief this brings to victims and their families.”
Would that that were true in the Lockerbie case.
Friday, 3 June 2011
Lockerbie – Unfinished Business in Wales
[The following is a report just published on the Welsh Daily Post newspaper website:]
The man jailed for the Lockerbie air disaster, which claimed 270 lives, should never have been convicted, believes Jim Swire, father of one of the victims. Writer and actor David Benson is now helping Jim in his campaign for justice.
He’s turned Jim’s memoirs into an award winning play, Lockerbie: Unfinished Business, which is coming to Clwyd Theatr Cymru on Wednesday. He hopes the play will help alter public perception of the atrocity and the man convicted of the bomb attack, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrhi.
Jim’s daughter Flora died in the plane crash, on the eve of her 24th birthday, in 1988. Jim strongly believes al-Megrhi was framed and the real perpetrator is still at large, but is not being chased for political reasons.
David was set the "mind-boggling challenge" of condensing Jim’s extensive manuscript into a 65-minute play.
He said: "It is a personal, emotional and informative account, which tells not only the story of what happened on the day, but also provides audiences with all the information they need to decide whether or not al-Megrahi is guilty."
David described his inspiration for wanting to do the play.
"I came across Jim’s website in late 2009, just after the international outcry over the release of al-Megrahi. I was outraged by the outcry because I knew enough at that point to know that al-Megrahi wasn’t guilty and I felt the outcry should have been about the fact he was convicted, not released."
David explained how the play has become part of the campaign and that he hopes he has taken some of the burden from Jim’s shoulders.
They hope the play will help alter public opinion about the conviction of al-Megrahi.
David was unsure of how audiences would react to the play, but says that he has received an amazing response.
He said: "Audiences have been shocked by the evidence the conviction was based on, some of it really is laughable. They feel moved and angry by the end and I hope this will motivate them to look further into it and realise they have the power to make a direct impact in the campaign.
"I hope people will approach their MPs and ask them to raise the issue.
"People don’t realise the power they hold – the government is terrified of the public. I hope the play can help change the outcome."
The play won an Edinburgh Fringe First award and was also nominated for an Amnesty International award, which David described as an "extreme honour" and he feels this has helped to "keep the story alive".
Lockerbie: Unfinished Business, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, June 8, Tickets: 08453303565
The man jailed for the Lockerbie air disaster, which claimed 270 lives, should never have been convicted, believes Jim Swire, father of one of the victims. Writer and actor David Benson is now helping Jim in his campaign for justice.
He’s turned Jim’s memoirs into an award winning play, Lockerbie: Unfinished Business, which is coming to Clwyd Theatr Cymru on Wednesday. He hopes the play will help alter public perception of the atrocity and the man convicted of the bomb attack, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrhi.
Jim’s daughter Flora died in the plane crash, on the eve of her 24th birthday, in 1988. Jim strongly believes al-Megrhi was framed and the real perpetrator is still at large, but is not being chased for political reasons.
David was set the "mind-boggling challenge" of condensing Jim’s extensive manuscript into a 65-minute play.
He said: "It is a personal, emotional and informative account, which tells not only the story of what happened on the day, but also provides audiences with all the information they need to decide whether or not al-Megrahi is guilty."
David described his inspiration for wanting to do the play.
"I came across Jim’s website in late 2009, just after the international outcry over the release of al-Megrahi. I was outraged by the outcry because I knew enough at that point to know that al-Megrahi wasn’t guilty and I felt the outcry should have been about the fact he was convicted, not released."
David explained how the play has become part of the campaign and that he hopes he has taken some of the burden from Jim’s shoulders.
They hope the play will help alter public opinion about the conviction of al-Megrahi.
David was unsure of how audiences would react to the play, but says that he has received an amazing response.
He said: "Audiences have been shocked by the evidence the conviction was based on, some of it really is laughable. They feel moved and angry by the end and I hope this will motivate them to look further into it and realise they have the power to make a direct impact in the campaign.
"I hope people will approach their MPs and ask them to raise the issue.
"People don’t realise the power they hold – the government is terrified of the public. I hope the play can help change the outcome."
The play won an Edinburgh Fringe First award and was also nominated for an Amnesty International award, which David described as an "extreme honour" and he feels this has helped to "keep the story alive".
Lockerbie: Unfinished Business, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, June 8, Tickets: 08453303565
Thursday, 2 June 2011
The finest traditions of Scots law...
[What follows is the text of a letter from John W Elliott published in today's edition of The Herald:]
Lords Hope and Rodger are two of our most distinguished Scottish judges. They have occupied the offices of Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General before going on to safeguard the interests of our Scottish legal system first as Lords of Appeal in Ordinary in the House of Lords and now as Justices of the UK Supreme Court.
Kenny MacAskill, our Cabinet Secretary for Justice, is a solicitor by profession but he has reverted to type by barracking the UK Supreme Court.
This is rather sad. By his boorish interventions in this matter – comments about English judges and the Edinburgh Festival and accusations that the UK Supreme Court is some sort of ambulance chasing institution – Mr MacAskill has lost the dignity and stature he displayed when he released Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds according to the finest traditions of Scots law.
[What principally concerns me about the present brouhaha over the role of the UK Supreme Court is the failure to address the fundamental question about the performance of the Scottish criminal justice system in relation to human rights issues. Few, if any, Scots lawyers would say that the Supreme Court was wrong in its interpretation and application to Scottish practice of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Cadder and Fraser cases. There can be little, if any, doubt that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg would have reached the same conclusions. Our first concern should be about rectifying the deficiencies in the Scottish criminal justice system, not shooting whatever messenger has the temerity to point them out. But while the posts of Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are both occupied by legal civil servants, virtually the whole of whose working life has been spent in the Crown Office, reform -- or even recognition that it is called for -- is in the highest degree unlikely.]
Lords Hope and Rodger are two of our most distinguished Scottish judges. They have occupied the offices of Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General before going on to safeguard the interests of our Scottish legal system first as Lords of Appeal in Ordinary in the House of Lords and now as Justices of the UK Supreme Court.
Kenny MacAskill, our Cabinet Secretary for Justice, is a solicitor by profession but he has reverted to type by barracking the UK Supreme Court.
This is rather sad. By his boorish interventions in this matter – comments about English judges and the Edinburgh Festival and accusations that the UK Supreme Court is some sort of ambulance chasing institution – Mr MacAskill has lost the dignity and stature he displayed when he released Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds according to the finest traditions of Scots law.
[What principally concerns me about the present brouhaha over the role of the UK Supreme Court is the failure to address the fundamental question about the performance of the Scottish criminal justice system in relation to human rights issues. Few, if any, Scots lawyers would say that the Supreme Court was wrong in its interpretation and application to Scottish practice of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Cadder and Fraser cases. There can be little, if any, doubt that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg would have reached the same conclusions. Our first concern should be about rectifying the deficiencies in the Scottish criminal justice system, not shooting whatever messenger has the temerity to point them out. But while the posts of Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are both occupied by legal civil servants, virtually the whole of whose working life has been spent in the Crown Office, reform -- or even recognition that it is called for -- is in the highest degree unlikely.]
By the way ...
[The following are excerpts from a report published today on the website of the Toledo Blade newspaper:]
Lockerbie case comes to Toledo in watch lawsuit
A watch recovered from the Lockerbie plane bombing is at the center of a legal battle set to play out in Lucas County Common Pleas Court this summer.
Cherry Peirce, the widow of Perrysburg architect Peter Peirce, is suing two employees of Estate Jewelry Buyers in Sylvania, alleging that they bought and sold more than $150,000 worth of jewelry that was stolen in 2008 from her Catawba Island home in Ottawa County. One of the pieces was a wristwatch worn by Mr Peirce, who was one of 270 killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December, 1988.
Mrs Peirce's complaint, filed in January, seeks compensatory and punitive damages of at least $600,000 (...)
Mr Kerger [attorney for the plaintiff] said two window washers who had entry to Mrs Peirce's home stole several pieces of jewelry that were hidden in the back of a dresser drawer. The items included her wedding rings, a 3.5-karat diamond ring, an emerald ring given to her by her late husband, and a watch that was retrieved from the plane wreckage after Mr Peirce died in the Lockerbie crash. (...)
Mrs Peirce's jewelry has not been recovered. Aside from the monetary value of her jewelry, Mr Kerger said the theft of Mr Peirce's watch -- the only item of his that was recovered from the Lockerbie crash -- represents an emotional loss for Mrs. Peirce that can't be recovered in court.
"It's one of those items that is truly irreplaceable," he said.
Lockerbie case comes to Toledo in watch lawsuit
A watch recovered from the Lockerbie plane bombing is at the center of a legal battle set to play out in Lucas County Common Pleas Court this summer.
Cherry Peirce, the widow of Perrysburg architect Peter Peirce, is suing two employees of Estate Jewelry Buyers in Sylvania, alleging that they bought and sold more than $150,000 worth of jewelry that was stolen in 2008 from her Catawba Island home in Ottawa County. One of the pieces was a wristwatch worn by Mr Peirce, who was one of 270 killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December, 1988.
Mrs Peirce's complaint, filed in January, seeks compensatory and punitive damages of at least $600,000 (...)
Mr Kerger [attorney for the plaintiff] said two window washers who had entry to Mrs Peirce's home stole several pieces of jewelry that were hidden in the back of a dresser drawer. The items included her wedding rings, a 3.5-karat diamond ring, an emerald ring given to her by her late husband, and a watch that was retrieved from the plane wreckage after Mr Peirce died in the Lockerbie crash. (...)
Mrs Peirce's jewelry has not been recovered. Aside from the monetary value of her jewelry, Mr Kerger said the theft of Mr Peirce's watch -- the only item of his that was recovered from the Lockerbie crash -- represents an emotional loss for Mrs. Peirce that can't be recovered in court.
"It's one of those items that is truly irreplaceable," he said.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Scottish Parliament committee memberships
Public Petitions Committee
Membership: Neil Bibby, Richard Lyle, Nanette Milne, David Stewart (convener), Bill Walker, Sandra White, John Wilson
Justice Committee
Membership: Roderick Campbell, John Finnie, Christine Grahame (convener), Colin Keir, James Kelly, John Lamont, Alison McInnes, Graeme Pearson, Humza Yousaf
[The full list of all Scottish Parliament committee memberships can be seen here. The biographies of MSPs can be accessed here.]
Membership: Neil Bibby, Richard Lyle, Nanette Milne, David Stewart (convener), Bill Walker, Sandra White, John Wilson
Justice Committee
Membership: Roderick Campbell, John Finnie, Christine Grahame (convener), Colin Keir, James Kelly, John Lamont, Alison McInnes, Graeme Pearson, Humza Yousaf
[The full list of all Scottish Parliament committee memberships can be seen here. The biographies of MSPs can be accessed here.]
Christine Grahame MSP to chair Justice Committee
[The following is an excerpt from a report just published on The Scotsman website:]
Midlothian South SNP MSP Christine Grahame, a lawyer who has campaigned for an independent inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing, is to be convener of the justice committee after chairing the health and sport committee in the last parliament.
Midlothian South SNP MSP Christine Grahame, a lawyer who has campaigned for an independent inquiry into the Lockerbie bombing, is to be convener of the justice committee after chairing the health and sport committee in the last parliament.
A straw in the wind?
Col Gaddafi has enforced his rule in recent years by packing the security services with members of his own small tribe, the Gadadfa, and an allied tribe, the Megarha, to which the alleged Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Megrahi belongs.
[The above is a paragraph from a report published today on the website of The Telegraph, a resolutely Tory newspaper. The emphasis is mine.]
[The above is a paragraph from a report published today on the website of The Telegraph, a resolutely Tory newspaper. The emphasis is mine.]
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