LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

**bb1** Sun May 20, 2012 1:37 pm

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16231765

'Convicted Lockerbie Bomber Megrahi Is Dead'

0Comments
1:22pm UK, Sunday May 20, 2012
The former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi, has died, his brother has told Reuters news agency.

More follows...

I hope he talked and told the truth about Lockerbie before he went to face his Maker.

**lily** Sun May 20, 2012 1:39 pm

Oh me too.

**bb1** Sun May 20, 2012 4:18 pm

Well, if he has said anything, then no doubt East Renfrewshire Council will be the first to know:

The former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset al Megrahi, has died, his family has said.

East Renfrewshire Council, which is supposed to receive updates about his condition following his early release from prison, has said it has received no official confirmation of his death but it is investigating.

More at:

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16231765

I suppose he served some useful purpose, being a guinea pig for cancer treatments - which seem to have worked for a long time.

**bb1** Mon May 21, 2012 11:05 am

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16232076

Quote:

The Scottish government has said the case remains a live criminal investigation.
Robert Forrester, from the Justice for Megrahi group, said: "The Crown and successive governments have, for years, acted to obstruct any attempts to investigate how the conviction of Mr al Megrahi came about.
"Some in the legal and political establishments may well be breathing a sigh of relief now that Mr al Megrahi has died. This would be a mistake.
"Many unfortunates who fell foul of outrageous miscarriages of justice in the past have had their names cleared posthumously."
The group, which is seeking to have Megrahi's conviction quashed, is supported by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu and Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the bombing.
But Mr Cameron has moved quickly to brand a new inquiry unnecessary.
"I've always been clear he should never have been released from prison," he said. "I'm very clear that the court case was properly done and properly dealt with.

The Prime Minister said thoughts should be with the people who died in the "appalling terrorist act" and the suffering their families have endured.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond insisted the Lockerbie case remained a live criminal investigation and that authorities would rigorously pursue any new lines of inquiry.

"Mr Megrahi's death ends one chapter of the Lockerbie case but it does not close the book," he said, adding that the Crown's position has always been that Megrahi acted with others.

I wonder why Cameron is giving every impression of wanting to keep the lid firmly on - something.

**Lamplighter** Mon May 21, 2012 11:29 am

I wonder why Cameron is giving every impression of wanting to keep the lid firmly on - something.

I think he is saying that it is a Scottish affair; it was the Scots parliament that sent him back to Tripoli in 2009, Cameron was not elected PM until 2010, which means it was done on Brown's watch. I don't see Brown making Cameron party to anything the Labour Govt might have been up to. I am sure Megrahi was sent back in exchange for keeping Ghadaffi sweet over the oil etc. However, it seems Megrahi's boss, Senussi, is under arrest in Mauretania and is be extradited to Libya; he knows where the bodies are buried and I bet to ensure his own freedom/life he will besmirch anyone he can. I may be wrong, but that's how it looks to me. LL

**bb1** Mon May 21, 2012 11:35 am

Maybe, LL, it's a very tangled and strange business. I hope the whole truth comes out one day; I don't doubt Magrahi was involved, but he didn't just wake up one morning and decide to stick a bomb on an American airliner, there were others we don't know about yet.

And there have always been strange stories about that flight and seats being cancelled at the last moment, vague warnings given, and the CIA etc being in Lockerbie within hours.

I'd like to hope we get the whole truth one day.

**Lamplighter** Mon May 21, 2012 11:42 am

There was an American lady on TV this morning and she mentioned that, like many others who lost people on that flight, she was sure the CIA knew well in advance that there was a threat; I have heard this before - a few years ago a commentator said that the problem was no-one knew which flight was targeted; they had to literally toss a coin. Obviously the wrong choice was made and the Pan Am flight blew up. I hope we do know before we are no longer around to know the truth. LL

**Sabot** Mon May 21, 2012 11:56 am

I have never been quite sure that Magrahi was involved, especially since the father of one of the victims thinks that he wasn't. Whathisname, Gadafi, was not to be trusted, and could well have been protecting the real perpetrator.
Not that it matters all that much, beyond UK knowing more than they appear to be saying. Other than the loss of a real life for a possibly innocent man.
And God knows how anyone trusts the CIA anymore.

**bb1** Mon May 21, 2012 11:59 am

I could see something like that being the case, LL. Whether true or not, there were a great many stories at the time about the CIA being on the scene before daylight, before there was even a clear picture of what had happened.

I remember that night well, because it was stormy outside. It was before 24 hour news, so broadcasting was interrupted because something had happened at Lockerbie. Even when the first pictures of the burning houses were shown, there was still the thought, it can't be an airliner, it must be a low-flying RAF plane.

It's one of those things that sticks in your mind?

**Lamplighter** Mon May 21, 2012 2:17 pm

They have just re-shown a documentary on the case on Al Jazeera - here is the link if you have never seen this program before. It opens a can of worms re who did, or did not, order/commit the Lockerbie tragedy and evidence that was suppressed or deliberately altered. Watch and decide for yourselves. LL

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/general/2011/06/201169134738626549.html

**Sabot** Mon May 21, 2012 2:26 pm

I really can't face it, LL. Maybe I will later. What did you think? But the thought that an innocent man was convicted is all a bit too much for me. I really can't bear the possibility.

**bb1** Mon May 21, 2012 2:34 pm

I don't think he was entirely innocent, Sabot, but I don't think he was entirely guilty, either...

You know, it is just as well he was released on compassionate grounds, and died - fairly unpleasantly - in Libya. Could you imagine the bloodbath that would have ensued if he HAD been handed over to the US and died in custody there?

**Lamplighter** Mon May 21, 2012 2:41 pm

Sabot wrote:
I really can't face it, LL. Maybe I will later. What did you think? But the thought that an innocent man was convicted is all a bit too much for me. I really can't bear the possibility.

It is a full of inconsistencies, sabot, and does require you watch it straight through. As with all these things, there are bits you can agree with, bits you can'l and bits that really seem very strange indeed. Do I think him guilty? I am not sure; he may have been the one who set the whole thing up; he may have been an unwilling participant (we all know how Ghadaffi would threaten peoples' families if they didn't do as he wanted) or he may have, as he always insisted right up to the end, been an innocent bystander. But parts of the documentary do raise, in my view, severe doubts and also questions that may never be answered. LL

ETA: This is the latest on Senussi, the intelligence chief who may well have been the mastermind, after Ghadaffi, of the Lockerbie crash. he was Megrahi's boss when the latter was in intelligence. LL

ETA (2)

From Press Association:

MacAskill defends Megrahi release
Press Association – 20 minutes ago
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, has died

Scotland's Justice Secretary has defended his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber almost three years ago as the only man convicted of the tragedy is buried in Libya today.
Kenny MacAskill said he had made the "right decision for the right reasons" as he gave his reaction to the death of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.
Former Libyan intelligence officer Megrahi was sentenced to life in prison for the 1988 bombing of a US airliner over the Dumfries and Galloway town which claimed 270 lives.
He was later diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and controversially released from prison in August 2009, with an estimated three months to live, on compassionate grounds.
But Megrahi, who always proclaimed his innocence, proved medical experts wrong and finally lost his cancer battle in Tripoli on Sunday at the age of 60.
Mr MacAskill, who was tasked with making the decision on Megrahi's release, said: "I said at the time that it was a privilege to hold the position of Justice Secretary in the Scottish Government.
"You have to deal with what comes before you. I didn't choose to address this matter but it was my obligation as the Justice Secretary to address it.
"I did so without fear or favour, I did so following the rules and laws that we have in Scotland, based upon the evidence provided. It was information given to me that was honest, open and transparent, and I stand by that decision.
"It was the right decision for the right reasons."

**Sabot** Mon May 21, 2012 3:18 pm

So nobody was absolutely certain that he was guilty. What a disgrace for Justice. Ghadaffi handed him over, and that was it. And who the hell believes Ghadafi anymore.
But when the father of one of the victims says that he doesn't believe it, then you have to wonder.
And he quite likely got prostate cancer from despair and whatever treatment he was exposed to in prison.
No, I don't know if he was guilty, but I don't like what happened. It stinks.

**bb1** Mon May 21, 2012 3:50 pm

He wasn't treated any differently from any other prisoner, Sabot - maybe a bit better than most, as the eyes of the world were on him.

Members of his family came to live in Scotland so they could visit him regularly, and he was admitted to hospital - under guard - as any other prisoner would be.

Which is how the bizarre situation of him being the responsibility of East Renfrewshire Social Work department came about.

I personally have no doubt he was involved in the bombing, unwillingly or not, but he wasn't the only one, and I would like to see a few more eventually stand trial - WITHOUT anyone baying for blood.

It is worth remembering that whoever planted the bomb on PanAm 103 hadn't expected it to blow up over land - very little was ever found of the Air India flight that was blown up over the Atlantic, and the bombers no doubt thought the same thing would happen over 103. But the flight took off late, and was also delayed by headwinds. Which is why the debris landed on Lockerbie and left a wealth of evidence.

So, did Libya end up having to produce a scapegoat when everything led back to them? I don't know, but I don't think we know a tenth of the truth about Lockerbie yet.

This is well worth reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103

Prior alerts

A number of alerts were posted shortly before the bombing.
Helsinki warning

CIA and the Helsinki warning
On 5 December 1988 (16 days prior to the attack), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a security bulletin saying that on that day a man with an Arabic accent had telephoned the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki, Finland, and had told them that a Pan Am flight from Frankfurt to the United States would be blown up within the next two weeks by someone associated with the Abu Nidal Organization. He said a Finnish woman would carry the bomb on board as an unwitting courier.[43]

The anonymous warning was taken seriously by the U.S. government. The State Department cabled the bulletin to dozens of embassies. The FAA sent it to all U.S. carriers, including Pan Am, which had charged each of the passengers a $5 security surcharge, promising a "program that will screen passengers, employees, airport facilities, baggage and aircraft with unrelenting thoroughness";[44] the security team in Frankfurt found the warning hidden under a pile of papers on a desk the day after the bombing.[8][page needed] One of the Frankfurt security screeners, whose job was to spot explosive devices under X-ray, told ABC News that she had first learned what Semtex (a plastic explosive) was during her ABC interview 11 months after the bombing.[45]
On 13 December, the warning was posted on bulletin boards in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and eventually distributed to the entire American community there, including journalists and businessmen. As a result, a number of people allegedly booked on carriers other than Pan Am, leaving empty seats on PA103 that were later sold cheaply in "bucket shops".[citation needed]

**Sabot** Mon May 21, 2012 4:46 pm

Well there you go. There was a reasonable doubt. But no one was having that. Sorry, I don't want to cause a fight, but I never was happy with this.

And I am quite sure that he was treated reasonably. I never had any doubt of that. But the whole thing was so emotive. And so easy to convict the wrong person. Presuming that this is what happened.

**bb1** Mon May 21, 2012 5:01 pm

This is another interesting story, Sabot:

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16232304

George Thomson, criminal investigator
Abdelbaset al Megrahi was a good friend of mine.

The last time I saw him was at his house in Tripoli last December. I'm no doctor, but I could see he had only a short time to live.
He lay on his bed in very poor health and, while he was conscious, struggled to speak.
He gave me a ceremonial waistcoat as a gift, a gesture of kindness that was typical of the man.
But the waistcoat wasn't all. Megrahi left me with his dying wish that I help to continue the campaign that consumed him until his final breath - the fight to clear his name.
He asked me to make contact with Dr Jim Swire, the father of a girl who died in the Lockerbie bombing, who believes in Megrahi's innocence.
He wanted us to work together, with like-minded supporters, to try to overturn his conviction. He insisted, as do we, that the whole case against him was based on conjecture and planted evidence.
VICTIM'S FATHER: MEGRAHI'S DEATH 'IS SAD'

I gave this innocent man my assurance that I would everything I possibly could to pursue a posthumous pardon.
The Megrahi I saw last December was entirely different from the man I first met in 2003, a couple of years after he'd been convicted and sent to jail in Scotland.
I am a criminal investigator and had joined his defence team as we worked on his appeal.
At that time, Megrahi was barely interested. He was down and, generally, had no hope that he would ever prove his innocence.
That changed, however, as we began to gather the evidence that cast doubt on his conviction. He soon became an interested, demanding client.
He had 24-hour access to a phone in jail, which he'd use to contact the Libyan consulate in Glasgow, that would, in turn, patch him through to any number in the world.
He would call my number on a daily basis, hungry for information. I'm a keen fisherman and soon had to start taking a mobile out on the boat with me to take Megrahi's calls as he became consumed by the effort to clear his name.
The campaign energised him. It gave him a focus behind bars and improved his mood, generally.

Over time, he also began to engage with his surroundings, making the best of the life he had in jail.
One of the conditions of the treaty drawn up before his handover by the Libyans was that he would have access to Arabic TV channels whilst in jail.
That meant that he could watch British football on the television in his cell which, in turn, meant that he was Mr Popular anytime there was a Rangers or Celtic game on TV.
Fellow inmates were able to enjoy live football coverage courtesy of their Libyan neighbour. He was a Rangers supporter, incidentally.

Not that he wasn't tuned into the potential hazards of prison life. He was given a visiting room to himself whenever I, or my colleagues, went to see him.
One day there was the sound of a commotion outside the door. We didn't know what was happening and, quick as a flash, Megrahi jumped out of his seat and stood behind me, for protection.
The panic soon ended, however, when it turned out to be a scuffle between two wardens who had argued over who should close the door to the visiting area.
It was around 2005 that he began to complain of pains in his stomach and of acid. He put it down to a poor prison diet.
Looking back, that was probably the initial symptoms of the prostate cancer that eventually killed him.
The subsequent demise of an old friend saddens me greatly. His conviction and sentence angers me, as it does others who firmly believe in his innocence.
Abdelbaset al Megrahi was a good man who deserved better, much better.

-------

It's interesting that he didn't get bothered in prison - football not withstanding - and that Westerners who came to know him doubted his guilt.

I was reading a report somewhere or other that a fresh appeal was due to be held when he fell ill, and that he may well have won it. Westminster and Washington were well aware of that, and that all sorts of nasty worms were going to come wriggling out from under stones.

So, they made outraged noises when he was released under Scots law, and left Holyrood to carry the can, but were secretly relieved.

I just don't know. If he was involved, he wasn't alone. If he wasn't - then why was he made the scapegoat? If he was guilty, then he was shown more compassion than he showed the people he killed.

But if he wasn't - then thank God he was shown compassion, and not just handed over to a baying mob demanding he be extradited to the States to face the death penalty.

**Sabot** Mon May 21, 2012 5:41 pm

I don't know why he could have been made a scapegoat, Bonny. But I suspect that any old person would have done at the time, and in the light of what Ghadaffi was up to. I personally believe that Ghadiffi offered up any old person rather than have exposed what he had really been up to.

America never had any chance. The UK does not subscribe to what can be seen as American Justice, much as I love our American Posters. But then all of them are interested in the real thing.
You only had to watch The Casey Anthony Case to know the depths of misinformation to which their Prosecution will go. It was a disgrace. And thank God for an honest Jury. Who, incidentally are still being abused.

**bb1** Mon May 21, 2012 5:53 pm

There are just too many unanswered questions about Lockerbie, IMO. I had thought that after Gaddafi's undignified end, Magrahi might have spoken then, but who knows? Maybe he was just too ill, or was still worried about his family's safety.

There's too much we still don't know, IMO.

**Sabot** Mon May 21, 2012 5:59 pm

That is the point though. Still too many people aren't sure. That isn't Justice.

**bb1** Mon May 21, 2012 7:22 pm

Just be glad that he wasn't handed over to the States, even though the trial wasn't in Scotland, it was as near as possible under our law.

I can understand that, because so many of the victims were American, and it was an American airliner, there was a very vocal lobby for the trial to take place in America, but that really wasn't on.

If - God forbid - a BA plane was blown up over Texas, then the UK wouldn't have jurisdiction, the US rightly would.

It's an unsatisfactory business all round, and the families of the victims deserve to know the truth. I don't think they have heard anything like the truth so far.

**bb1** Thu May 24, 2012 8:56 pm

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16234780

Police To Visit Libya In WPC Murder Inquiry

A Metropolitan Police team is to fly to Libya to continue an investigation into the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, David Cameron has confirmed.

The Prime Minister said the visit was a "really positive step forward" in the inquiry into the 1984 killing.
WPC Fletcher was shot dead as she policed an anti-Gaddafi demonstration outside the Libyan People's Bureau in London - apparently from a shot fired from within the building.
The investigation has always been open and the Met Police said the latest announcement was "significant", and that it was "committed to identifying those people responsible".
Commander Richard Walton, head of the Counter Terrorism Command, said: "We have never lost our resolve to solve this murder and achieve justice for Yvonne's family."

A memorial plaque for the police officer

Mr Cameron was speaking on the day the North African state's interim prime minister Abdurrahim El-Keib visited No 10 and met Scotland Yard officers and Home Office Minister James Brokenshire to discuss the case.
He said his country would "work very closely together" with the UK.
Mr El-Keib worked with those opposed to the Gaddafi regime during the late leader's dictatorship and said he knew some of those involved in the demonstration in London, which led to an 11-day siege of the building in St James's Square and the severing of diplomatic links between the UK and Libya.

Fresh hopes were raised in the search for WPC Fletcher's killer when Colonel Gaddafi was ousted last year, but plans to send British police to Libya have been hampered by the lack of co-operation from the authorities in Tripoli.
During his meeting with Mr Cameron, Mr El-Keib paid tribute to the UK's role in the international military mission to protect civilians from Colonel Gaddafi's forces.
He told the PM: "You took a bold decision when it was very difficult for many to even consider supporting the Libyan people. You took that decision which inspired many of us."
Mr Cameron told him: "There are huge challenges for your country - challenges we want to help you with.
"We really believe in the Arab Spring and what you achieved in Libya. We will be backing you every step of the way."
Elections for a national assembly for Libya are expected in June or July.
With the meeting coming days after the death of the only person convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbasset al Megrahi, the two leaders were expected to discuss whether any other evidence relating to the attack has emerged since Colonel Gaddafi's downfall.

Sponsored content

LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES

Re: LOCKERBIE BOMBER MEGRAHI DIES