View Full Version : Lockerbie bomber freed from jail
The convicted Lockerbie bomber has been flown home to Libya after being freed from a Scottish 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.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/8197370.stm
What are your thoughts on this? Should he have died in jail or were the Scottish government right to send him home?
Chloe O'brien
20-08-2009, 20:11
My thoughts are he should have remained in jail until he dies. Although I don't believe he was totally responsible for the Lockerbie tragedy he was the fall guy, but he is a murderer and muderers should be locked up for life. His release is just going to open a can of worms as other prisoners will be requesting to be released early.
Although it is contentious I support the decison of the Scottish Government to release a terminally ill man with less than three months to live from jail.
By showing compassion we are proving that justice is about more than revenge. There is no public protection issue here, and therefore no reason to treat this man any differently than other convicted murderers in the same situation.
We are assuming the moral high ground here, and hopefully in the process we will convince some individuals who believe the West to be at war with Islam and not terror that we are not the enemy.
released on compassion, what compassion did he show to the 200+ he murdered???
That compassion is what differentiates between murderers and wise men, Bry.
I don't get the whole do unto them what they do to you thing. Surely that just brings the whole of society down to the lowest common denominator?
He is a murderer who showed no compassion.
We are better than that.
My views on punishing terrorists is well known. I feel the Scottish Government took a very brave step in releasing this man. He has three months to live and its only right that he should be allowed to spend it with his family. Nothing can forgive what he did but keeping him in jail isnt going to bring those people back.
We will never know the truth about Lockerbie
im currently undecided on this one as i dont have enough info about previous cases...
Apart from ronnie briggs is there anyone else we know has been released under these circumstances?
Does this set a president for other criminals who are terminally ill?
I can see both sides of the argument here but would everyone be reacting the same if this was a Pedophile who was released??? Different crimes just like ronnie and the bomber but same case to put forward...
According to one of the news reporters on BBC news 24 this morning, the Scottish government have released thirty people on compassionate grounds in the last ten years. Three were guilty of murder and one of culpable homicide, the rest were relatively minor offences.
I've read reports and opinions saying that this guy was made a scapegoat and wasn't responsible for blowing the plane up, then other reports saying that he masterminded the whole thing.
I'm not old enough to remember it and the circumstances surrounding it so I'm in no position to comment on whether the government are right to release him. I can see reasons for and against though and I do worry that if this guy was involved, he could quite easily be plotting to blow up another aircraft now that his comms aren't being monitored and he can move freely.
Or he may be too busy dying.
For those of you who believe in God I think you can take comfort in the words of Kenny McAskill who said. Magrahi will have to face a higher power in a few months time.
parkerman
21-08-2009, 09:38
As an atheist it would be no comfort to me at all, alan!
However, having followed this case from the start I feel Megrahi was a patsy and that the full truth about what happened has never come out. I think the Scottish government and judiciary were worried about what might come out at his appeal and so a deal was done for him to drop the appeal in return for his freedom.
The people who are doing the most complaining about his release, our American cousins are the ones who would be embarrassed if the truth were to come out.
parkerman
21-08-2009, 09:59
Quite right, alan.
Briefly the case for saying Megrahi's conviction was a travesty is this:
First, there were the testimonies of two witnesses who were paid huge sums by the CIA, one a notorious liar, Abdul Giaka, who was the first person to mention Megrahi and the other the Maltese shopkeeper who identified him as the man who bought the clothes. Before identifying him he had already been shown photographs of Megrahi.
Some of the forensic evidence appeared to have been tampered with and much of the evidence withheld, including the fact that there had been a serious breach in security at Heathrow at the Pan Am baggage area in the early hours of 21 December 1988, the day of the bombing. A padlock on the door had been professionally cut and the area open to intruders. Coupled with the testimony of baggage handlers about two extra cases going aboard - one matching the description of the bag said to have carried the bomb. This evidence would have featured heavily in Megrahi's appeal.
There were also the similarities to the modus operandi of a Middle East terrorist cell operating out of Frankfurt, including altitude-sensitive timers, which the judges did not allow Megrahi's defence team to raise at the trial.
Because of the long delay in hearing the appeal, none of these worrying issues were ever aired in court. And maybe the Scottish Government preferred it that way, hence the "deal" to allow Megrahi to go home after dropping his appeal.
Although the American families have declared their outrage at Megrahi's release, many of the Scottish families involved, as well as the UN observer at the trial, have all voiced their opinion that there was a miscarriage of justice and the families in particular have pressed for a public enquiry.
tammyy2j
21-08-2009, 15:20
He should have been left to rot in prison
parkerman
21-08-2009, 16:21
He should have been left to rot in prison
Even if he wasn't actually guilty?
The problem with revenge is that generally it brings you right down to the level of the person you are seeking revenge against.
E.g. Capital punishment - kill a man for killing a man. Who is worse the individual or the state.
I agree that in many cases life should mean life (usually for the protection of the public) - but does that mean right up to the last second of life. Don't we have it in us to be that bit more compassionate.
With regards to the comments from Parkerman, I have heard some of these before and they certainly raise a reasonable doubt in my mind.
Another problem with revenge is that it is often blinded by anger, it doen't seem to matter to some people who is in jail as long as someone is.
bet the goverment are having kittens, now that theyve seen the welcome he got when he arrived back in his homeland. cant imagine our best buddies the americans were best pleased with our decision to release him.
i love the PM's statement earlier which highlighted that it was the scottish government who made the decision, talk about passing the buck!
i love the PM's statement earlier which highlighted that it was the scottish government who made the decision, talk about passing the buck!
Scotland keeps going on about wanting to be separate from the English parliament and make their own decisions. I guess Gordon Brown had some input as we're all part of Britain/the UK but ultimately, the Scottish are responsible for this decision.
parkerman
21-08-2009, 19:12
Well, I'm not one generally for conspiracy theories. I think all the Moon Landing and 9/11 conspiracy stuff is rubbish, but I do think there's probably a good reason why Gordon Brown allowed the Scottish Government to make the decision. The British Government can then blame it on to them and stay buddies with America that way.
Chloe O'brien
21-08-2009, 23:58
compassion my ass the only reason Megrahi was released early was that in Mr Salmond's eyes Lybian oil is worth more than 278 innocent lives. Megrahi is not the first prisoner to suffer a terminal disease and he won't be the last, but will Mr McCaskill be releasing them on compassionate ground will he fook. If McCaskill had any thoughts for those victims he would have agreed to let Megrahi return to Libya but be transferred to a jail there, but no he sold his compassion for 30 pieces of silver and some Libyain oil.
Let's not forget the Gary McKinnon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon) issue. There's too many politics at play here and, as always, the public are shafted.
bet the goverment are having kittens, now that theyve seen the welcome he got when he arrived back in his homeland. cant imagine our best buddies the americans were best pleased with our decision to release him.
i love the PM's statement earlier which highlighted that it was the scottish government who made the decision, talk about passing the buck!
The yanks will be ****ting themselves in case he tells the truth before he meets his maker.
Megrahi was stiched up by the CIA
tammyy2j
26-08-2009, 17:23
The Lockerbie bomber could live far longer than predicted by Scottish ministers, according to a leading cancer expert.
The medical report on Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi's condition released by the Scottish Government said specialists believed he might only survive a few months.
One expert said his condition had declined "significantly", concluding three months was a reasonable estimate.
But one Labour MSP, who specialised in prostate disease research, thinks Megrahi may in fact live "far longer".
Dr Richard Simpson accused the Scottish justice minister, Kenny MacAskill, of failing to conduct sufficient checks before deciding to release the terminally-ill bomber.
The latest rows broke out as Gordon Brown finally ended his silence on the controversy, but refused to say whether he agreed with the decision.
The Prime Minister stressed he had no role in the release and was angry and repulsed at the hero's welcome that greeted the convicted bomber on his return to Libya.
parkerman
27-08-2009, 11:26
The Lockerbie bomber could live far longer than predicted by Scottish ministers, according to a leading cancer expert.
The medical report on Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi's condition released by the Scottish Government said specialists believed he might only survive a few months.
One expert said his condition had declined "significantly", concluding three months was a reasonable estimate.
But one Labour MSP, who specialised in prostate disease research, thinks Megrahi may in fact live "far longer".
So, let me get this right. The specialists who actually examined Megrahi give him three months to live but a Labour MSP who didn't examine him and was trying to make a political point thinks he might live longer.
Now I wonder who we should believe...
He received a hero's welcome when he returned home :angry:
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