Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi’s Life And Crimes In Pictures: Lockerbie, MacAskill And Lies
ON August 20th, 2009, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill approved the releases of Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber. This week, the issue of the mass murderer’s release from jail is being debated by David Cameron and Barack Obama. They will achieve nothing other than grandstanding.
Anorak told you what would happen.
And we told you again.
Yesterday, MacASkill was on a visit to HMP Shotts in Shotts, Lanarkshire. Prisoners may like to tell Mr MacAskill that they murdered 270 people and are feeling so ill they’d like to go home. Ask him. See what he says.
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Undated file photo of Jonathan Waxman one of three doctors whose opinion was paid for by the Libyan government to assess the health of the Lockerbie bomber and was not considered by the Scottish Justice Secretary when he made his decision to free him on compassionate grounds, the Scottish Government said.
Kenny MacAskill said back then:
“On the evening of 21 December 1988 a heinous crime was perpetrated. It claimed the lives of 270 innocent civilians. Four days before Christmas, men, women and children going about their daily lives were cruelly murdered.
“They included 11 from one small Scottish town. That town was Lockerbie – a name that will forever be associated with the worst terrorist atrocity ever committed on UK soil.
“A prisoner transfer application has been submitted by the Government of Libya seeking the transfer of Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.
“The man convicted of those offences in the Scottish courts. He has also now sought to be released on compassionate grounds due to his prostate cancer that is terminal.”
But not yet terminal. Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi remains alive.
“…I now turn to the issue of compassionate release.
“Section three of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 gives the Scottish Ministers the power to release prisoners on licence on compassionate grounds.
“The Act requires that ministers are satisfied that there are compassionate grounds justifying the release of a person serving a sentence of imprisonment.
“Although the Act does not specify what the grounds for compassionate release are, guidance from the Scottish Prison Service, who assess applications, suggests that it may be considered where a prisoner is suffering from a terminal illness and death is likely to occur soon.
“There are no fixed time limits but life expectancy of less than three months may be considered an appropriate period.
“The guidance makes it clear that all prisoners, irrespective of sentence length, are eligible to be considered for compassionate release. That guidance dates from 2005.
“On 24 July 2009 I received an application from Mr Al Megrahi for compassionate release. He was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer in September 2008.
“I have been regularly updated as to the progression of his illness.
“I have received numerous comprehensive medical reports including the opinions of consultants who have been treating him.
“It is quite clear to the medical experts that he has a terminal illness, and indeed that there has recently been a significant deterioration in his health.
“In order to consider the application for compassionate release, I was provided with reports and recommendations by the Governor of Greenock Prison, the doctors and prison social work staff…
“Assessment by a range of specialists has reached the firm consensus that his disease is, after several different trials of treatment, ”hormone resistant“ – that is resistant to any treatment options of known effectiveness.
“Consensus on prognosis therefore has moved to the lower end of expectations.
“Mr Al Megrahi was examined by Scottish Prison Service doctors on 3 August.“A report dated 10 August from the director of health and care for the Scottish Prison Service indicates that a three-month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate. The advice they have provided is based not only on their own physical examination but draws on the opinion of other specialists and consultants who have been involved in his care and treatment. He may die sooner – he may live longer… Mr Al Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power. It is one that no court, in any jurisdiction, in any land, could revoke or overrule. It is terminal, final and irrevocable. He is going to die.
“In Scotland, we are a people who pride ourselves on our humanity.
“It is viewed as a defining characteristic of Scotland and the Scottish people.
“The perpetration of an atrocity and outrage cannot and should not be a basis for losing sight of who we are, the values we seek to uphold, and the faith and beliefs by which we seek to live.
“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.
“Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion be available.
“Our beliefs dictate that justice be served, but mercy be shown.
“Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs that we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people. No matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated.
“For these reasons – and these reasons alone – it is my decision that 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 allowed to return to Libya to die.”
He’s alive. He was sentenced to live in jail. He is not in jail. He is in Libya.
Posted: 21st, July 2010 | In: Key Posts, Politicians Comments (14) | TrackBack | Permalink
