Lockerbie bomber 'to be released'

[Andrew of Ware]

The Libyan man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is likely to be freed on compassionate grounds next week, the BBC understands.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, is serving life for murdering 270 people when Pan Am flight 103 exploded in 1988.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8198603.stm

If he is released then Megrahi would have served eight years in prison since his conviction in 2001. He was originally sentenced to a minimum of 27 years.

[Richard W]

There's a fair amount of doubt that he was the right person anyway, isn't there?

[Jay Tea]

Originally Posted by Richard W

There's a fair amount of doubt that he was the right person anyway, isn't there?

He's always maintained his innocence, UN observers of the Netherlands trial spoke of serious doubts concerning the proceedings and of 'miscarriage of justice' and new doubts popped up during subsequent appeals.

New information casting fresh doubts about Megrahi's conviction was examined at a procedural hearing at the Judicial Appeal Court (Court of Session building) in Edinburgh on October 11, 2007:

His lawyers claim that vital documents, which emanate from the CIA and relate to the Mebo timer that allegedly detonated the Lockerbie bomb, were withheld from the trial defence team.

Tony Gauci, chief prosecution witness at the trial, is alleged to have been paid $2 million for testifying against Megrahi.

Mebo's owner, Edwin Bollier, has claimed that in 1991 the FBI offered him $4 million to testify that the timer fragment found near the scene of the crash was part of a Mebo MST-13 timer supplied to Libya.

Former employee of Mebo, Ulrich Lumpert, swore an affidavit in July 2007 that he had stolen a prototype MST-13 timer in 1989, and had handed it over to "a person officially investigating the Lockerbie case".

The scope of his appeals however was limited by the courts and a lot of this material was never disclosed.

[jw]

Originally Posted by Andrew of Ware

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer

Apologies for the slight hijack, but I've often wondered how this works. If the persons health improves greatly afterwards, can they be put back in prison easily, or is this an option at all?

[Andrew of Ware]

I wonder if this is a belated admission by the Scottish Government that he is innocent and are using 'compassionate grounds' as an excuse to release him.

[Andrew of Ware]

Originally Posted by jw

Apologies for the slight hijack, but I've often wondered how this works, if the persons health improves greatly afterwards. Can they be put back in prison, easily, or is this an option at all?

According to the BBC page prisoners are usually only released on 'compassionate grounds' if they have less than three months to live. I can't imagine, though, that police officers will wait outside a released prisoner's house until three months and a day have passed and arrest him. In this case I doubt if Megrahi will be around in Scotland or the rest of the UK in three months time.

[Troberg]

Originally Posted by Andrew of Ware

According to the BBC page prisoners are usually only released on 'compassionate grounds' if they have less than three months to live. I can't imagine, though, that police officers will wait outside a released prisoner's house until three months and a day have passed and arrest him. In this case I doubt if Megrahi will be around in Scotland or the rest of the UK in three months time.

Given the circumstances, chances are that he will not be alive, cancer or not, in three months if he stays in Scotland. With the relatives and friends of 270 people bearing a grudge against him, someone is bound to act upon that grudge.

[Don Enrico]

Originally Posted by Andrew of Ware

According to the BBC page prisoners are usually only released on 'compassionate grounds' if they have less than three months to live. I can't imagine, though, that police officers will wait outside a released prisoner's house until three months and a day have passed and arrest him. In this case I doubt if Megrahi will be around in Scotland or the rest of the UK in three months time.

But what if he is? What if he, say, travels to Lourdes, dips in the water, and is cured? Or there's a cure for cancer invented next month, and he's among the first treated?

Can a release on 'compassionate grounds' be revoked at all?

The (from what I understand) German equivalent, a Begnadigung (pardon), couldn't.

Don Enrico

[Andrew of Ware]

I've no idea if a release on compassionate grounds could be revoked in the UK - but I would imagine not.

The BBC is reporting that the bomber is withdrawing his appeal against the conviction.

The Scottish Government insisted that the move was unconnected to any decision it would make about transferring Megrahi to Libya or releasing him on compassionate grounds.

However,

A prisoner transfer cannot take place if criminal proceedings are active.

Make of that what you will.

[Andrew of Ware]

Originally Posted by Don Enrico

Can a release on 'compassionate grounds' be revoked at all?

The BBC must have heard you Don. The answer is 'no.'

A spokesman from the Ministry of Justice said,

"There is no question of a prisoner being recalled simply because of a change in his or her compassionate circumstances. If a prisoner makes an unexpected recovery, for example, he/she remains on licence in the community."

What are the grounds for compassionate leave fromprison? (BBC News Magazine article)

[catty5nutz]

Wasn't the surviving Kray twin [can't remember if it was Ronnie or Reggie] released a few weeks before he died?

[aceygray]

He has been released, and is on his way back to Libya.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/s...nd/8197370.stm

[Andrew of Ware]

There has been a mixed reaction to his release. Most seem against the release, but one of the victim's father approves of the release.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8212285.stm

Before al-Megrahi was released the U.S. Government was against his release.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...nd/7329740.stm

The US state department has said it is standing by an international agreement requiring the Lockerbie bomber to serve his sentence in Scotland.

[Mr. Furious]

Fly him into Hancock so he can take a look at the names on this memorial before he rots.

[BringTheNoise]

Originally Posted by Mr. Furious

Fly him into Hancock so he can take a look at the names on this memorial before he rots.

Yes, spend money on sending someone who may not have even commited the crime to a memorial of the attacks. That's not a waste of our money at all.

(And I say this as someone who lived no more than 10 miles outside of Lockerbie when the bombing happened).

[Lainie]

Not to mention that if he were actually guilty, reading the names on the memorial would be unlikely to have much effect on him. Presumably someone who blows up an airliner in flight knows in advance that he's going to be killing a bunch of people.

[Mr. Furious]

Originally Posted by BringTheNoise

(And I say this as someone who lived no more than 10 miles outside of Lockerbie when the bombing happened).

Yes, your happenstance of geography absolutely trumps the murder of my classmates. My bad.

Originally Posted by Lainie

Not to mention that if he were actually guilty, reading the names on the memorial would be unlikely to have much effect on him. Presumably someone who blows up an airliner in flight knows in advance that he's going to be killing a bunch of people.

Fair enough. Bury him underneath the memorial, then.

I'm sorry, but I'm very sensitive about Pan Am 103. If you want to consider me irrational about it, fair enough.

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Mr. Furious

Yes, your happenstance of geography absolutely trumps the murder of my classmates. My bad.

BringTheNoise suggested no such thing.

[Chloe]

Originally Posted by Mr. Furious

Yes, your happenstance of geography absolutely trumps the murder of my classmates. My bad.

Wait a second--wasn't the fact that they were your classmates only "happenstance of geography"? I don't mean to underestimate how awful it was to people even circumstantially involved, but sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

[Mr. Furious]

Originally Posted by Chloe

Wait a second--wasn't the fact that they were your classmates only "happenstance of geography"? I don't mean to underestimate how awful it was to people even circumstantially involved, but sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

The loss of (IIRC) a dozen Lockerbie residents is no less tragic or senseless than the loss of the people on the plane. I simply considered the "I lived 10 miles from Lockerbie" a non sequitur.