Terminally-ill Lockerbie bomber Al-Megrahi released from prison

by mudricky | August 20, 2009 at 03:52 am

1096 views | 49 Recommendations | 10 comments

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the man convicted of blowing up Pan Am flight 103 over the sky at Lockerbie walked away a free man today and went straight on to a plane bound for Libya.

270 people in total died when Pan Am flight 103 blew up.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made the announced around 1.30pm BST that Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi had been set free on compassionate release.

MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary made a leanghty speech on why he was released by him.

The final decision on his release lay with him.

Mr MacAskill said this during his anouncment:

"Mr al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. They were not allowed to return to the bosom of their families to see out their lives, let alone their dying days. No compassion was shown by him to them,"

"But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days."

Mr MacAskill continued: "Our justice system demands that judgement be imposed, but compassion be available.

"For these reasons and these reasons alone, it is my decision that Mr Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi, convicted in 2001 for the Lockerbie bombing, now terminally ill with prostate cancer, be released on compassionate grounds and be allowed to return to Libya to die."

"Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs the we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people - no matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated," he added.

Under Scottish law if you are going to die you can ask to be released for that reason and not die in prison.

Megrahi, 57, who has served eight years of a life sentence, this week dropped an appeal so he could apply to be released on compassionate grounds as he has terminal prostate cancer.

His application can not be processed while an appeal is in progress.

The Lockerbie bomber has left Scotland on board a plane bound for Libya after being freed from prison on compassionate grounds.
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988.

The decision to release Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was made by the Scottish Government.

US president Barack Obama said the decision was "a mistake" and some US victims' families reacted angrily.

Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the explosion.

A police convoy left Greenock Prison, where Megrahi was serving his sentence, more than an hour after the announcement of his release was made.

He was taken to Glasgow Airport to board the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus plane bound for Tripoli, which took off shortly before 1530 BST.

The government said it had consulted widely before Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made his decision on applications for Megrahi's compassionate release or his transfer to a Libyan jail.

He told a media conference on Thursday that he had rejected the application for a prisoner transfer.

However, after taking medical advice it was expected that three months was a "reasonable estimate" of the time Megrahi had left to live.

He ruled out the option of the Libyan being allowed to live in Scotland on security grounds.

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Paschen

at 06:31 on August 20th, 2009

It was Wednesday the 21s of December 1988, as the aircraft flying this route—a Boeing 747-121 named Clipper Maid of the Seas—was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members. Also Eleven people in Lockerbie it self, (south Scotland), were killed due to large sections of the plane falling in and around the town, bringing total fatalities to 270. In 2001, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, a Libyan man, is a former Libyan intelligence officer, head of security forLibyan Arab Airlines, and director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Tripoli, Libya. was convicted of involvement in the bombing and sentenced to life imprisonment.

He has always maintained his innocence and, following the rejection of his first appeal in 2002, was granted leave in 2007 for a second appeal against conviction. He was freed "on compasssionate grounds" on 20 August 2009. Some argued he took the fall as the public wanted a conviction.

His co-accused, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was found not guilty and was acquitted.

J2B (not verified)

at 08:27 on August 20th, 2009

one person in prison for 8 years for so many murders and the mass destruction all seems so little!

Amy Judd

at 08:52 on August 20th, 2009

He only served eight years - that's disgraceful.

jazzyzazzy

at 09:09 on August 20th, 2009

What he did was disgusting and for many unforgivable,However he is only freed,because he is dying............................

Barry Zaremba (not verified)

at 20:34 on August 20th, 2009

Yes, he will get the chance to see his loved ones again. Something that those 270 people he killed did not get. Why show compassion to a man that had neither compassion nor remorse.

mudricky

at 09:51 on August 20th, 2009

Our laws are too soft, soft touch Scotland, that's us!!

j2B (not verified)

at 10:07 on August 20th, 2009

The imprisonment of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was suppose to give some kind of closure to the grieving families but now I fear what many of those will be bleeding again!

car1edb

at 13:25 on August 20th, 2009

hrmm... from the sound of all of the outstanding unanswered questions from the case and the fact he has consistently protested his innocence something doesn't sit right. Whole thing screams scapegoat. Libya needed to get back onto the world stage and they needed to give something other than compensation $s to do that.

The relatives of the victims are also divided about the initial verdict - "One of the British relatives said of the verdict: "We have our doubts about the guilt of Al-Megrahi and that will have to remain the subject of an appeal."

"A Scottish law professor has already gone on the record claiming that it was a disgrace that he was convicted on the evidence presented."

Questions of conviction/trial with no jury? who paid for the attack?

"I would wish to know the reason for Megrahi withdrawing his appeal. It's a very suspicious development."

Guess everything will probably come out with time after he is dead, same as Guildford 4, Birmingham 6, and other gross miscarriages of justice of the past.

car1edb

at 22:22 on August 30th, 2009

Released for oil?

"The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.

Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.

The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely criticised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release.

The correspondence makes it plain that the key decision to include Megrahi in a deal with Libya to allow prisoners to return home was, in fact, taken in London for British national interests."

Can Canpolat (not verified)

at 06:06 on October 18th, 2009

Hello to everybody, I have a question and I am gonna asking it to Scottish lawyers. Which regulation in Scottish Penal Law that allow to release a prisoner who is terminally ill? And what are the implementation clauses of this regulation? We have a similar event in Turkey, a prisoner woman(convicted of an teror offense) going to die because of cancer. Although we have an article about releasing a terminally ill prisoner in Turkish penal code, coroner's jury don't let her release. So I wanted to learn how abaout your penal system in this topic. Thanks for your answers.