Court denies Al-Megrahi bail in Lockerbie case

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, a Libyan national convicted of bombing an aeroplane flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, has been denied bail by a Scottish court. The decision by the court on Friday came after al-Megrahi's lawyers asked for their client to be freed on bail pending the outcome of an appeal against his conviction. Al Jazeera's Fergal Parkinson, reporting from Glasgow, said that al-Megrahi is very ill.
"He is said to have an advanced form of prostate cancer, and wanted to be with his family until the appeal is lodged," he said. "But Scotland's highest court has said no. Al-Megrahi, till this day, has maintained his innocence, and claims he was not involved in the Lockerbie bombing." Al-Megrahi was convicted of blowing up a Pan Am jumbo jet as it flew from London to New York on December 18, 1988, killing all 259 people on board. Eleven residents of the town of Lockerbie were killed by falling wreckage.  Al-Megrahi, 56, a former Libyan intelligence agent, was convicted in 2001 after a trial held in the Netherlands under Scottish law and sentenced to life in prison.  An initial appeal was rejected in 2002.
However, a Scottish criminal review body decided last year that al-Megrahi was entitled to another appeal on the grounds that he might have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing will remain in jail while his appeal continues, a court has ruled. The judgement on the bail application was delivered on Friday by the Lord Justice General Lord Hamilton, along with Lord Kingarth and Lord Wheatley. Lord Hamilton said the "critical question" was whether the applicant's health condition was such that the court should allow him bail on compassionate grounds.   "On balance the court is not persuaded, on the information before it, that it should," he said. "While the disease from which the appellant suffers is incurable and may cause his death, he is not at present suffering material pain or disability. "The full services of the National Health Service are available to him, notwithstanding he is in custody." He added that there appeared to be no immediate prospect of serious deterioration in his condition. "If he responds well to the course of palliative treatment which he has now started, his life expectancy may be in years," said Lord Hamilton.  However, the judges said they would consider a fresh appeal for bail if the Libyan's prognosis became "both more certain and poorer".  Outside court, a statement was read by Professor Robert Black on behalf of Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed on Flight 103.  Prof Robert Black reads a relative's statement: 'This looks uncomfortably like an aspect of revenge or timidity' He said he believed Scottish justice had missed a "golden opportunity" to show mercy to a dying man who posed little risk of absconding or reoffending.  "It is difficult, therefore, to see what justification there could be for today's decision," he said.  "It is, of course, true that with so many victims' relatives involved there would have been harsh criticism from some had he been released.  "For some of those it would have caused real distress." Dr Swire said the UK Families Flight 103 group had never sought revenge but the court's verdict looked "uncomfortably like either an aspect of revenge or perhaps timidity".  He added that he hoped the Libyan would now apply to the Scottish Government for release. However, Kathleen Flynn who lost her son JP at Lockerbie, said she believed justice had prevailed. "It just doesn't make any sense to me that we would let somebody out of prison when they blew up an American plane," she said. Solicitor Tony Kelly read a statement on behalf of Megrahi. 'Difficult time': "I am very distressed that the court has refused me bail pending the hearing of my appeal and the chance to spend my remaining time with my family," he said."I wish to reiterate that I had nothing whatsoever to do with the Lockerbie bombing and that the fight for justice will continue regardless of whether I am alive to witness my name being cleared." He also thanked the people who had sent him letters of support and asked that the privacy of his family be respected at a "very difficult time". Megrahi was convicted of the Lockerbie bombing in 2001. He has already lost a first appeal against that decision but the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) ruled another one should take place. That process got under way in June 2007 and is still ongoing.