Lockerbie Bomber's Release Linked to Trade Deal, Claims Gaddafi's Son
I stated yesterday that this ‘deal’ was linked to trade and commerce. It had LITTLE or NOTHING to do with compassion!

We in the West are being led by a-licking, brown-nosing, fawning fools! Gordon Brown is the arch a-licking, brown-nosing, fawning FOOL!

Recently, in answer to an ePetition that I and many other people signed, he stated that the government does not believe that there has been an encroachment of Islam on our country. If Gordon Brown believes that then he is a bigger fool than I thought he was.

Now this news that the release of the man who killed 270 innocent people is linked to a trade deal! What can any decent person say to anything so despicable as this?

The politicians of the West are showing themselves to be disgusting, unworthy, obsequious nincompoops. They should be kicked out of office forthwith. They are selling our culture and civilisation down the river. Gordon Brown speaks in his wooden way about Ramadhan, and sends his best wishes to the Muslim community on the eve of Ramadhan here. Then we have the leader of the free world arse-licking Muslims here.

This stupid man – Barack Hussein Obama – speaks for all Americans. I know many Americans for whom he does NOT speak.

It is all very well to send greetings to Muslims on the occasion of Ramadhan; indeed, it is a noble and lofty gesture. But this should only be done in reciprocation. But have you ever known of a Muslim country sending us greetings on the occasion of Easter or Christmas?

I shall welcome the day when both sides send greetings to each other. Until that day comes, I shall continue to object to anyone representing me sending greetings to the other side. Don’t forget this: The other side is waging the Jihad against YOU. The people on the other side want nothing less than to bring down Western civilisation. That is what these fools, our so-called representatives in government, refuse to acknowledge. Why? Partly because they don’t have the balls to do so, and partly because commerce is ruling the roost. The bottom line is everything, as the release of Megrahi has shown us all too clearly. Paying attention to the bottom line, letting the bottom line be everything, is precisely what will ultimately bring down the West. If this is how we are going to proceed, then we are doomed to failure. Islam will be our future. – ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif, claimed the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, was linked to trade deals between Britain and Libya.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown meets Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi . Photo: The Telegraph
He made the claims in a television interview for Libyan television recorded as he accompanied Megrahi on the flight back from Scotland to Libya on Thursday.

The claims were vehemently denied by the UK government.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “There is no deal. All decisions relating to Megrahi’s case have been exclusively for Scottish ministers, the Crown Office in Scotland and the Scottish judicial authorities.

“No deal has been made between the UK government and Libya in relation to Megrahi and any commercial interests in the country.”

The claims came as Megrahi said he would produce evidence proving his innocence before he dies.

In an interview with The Times, Megrahi said: My message to the British and Scottish communities is that I will put out the evidence and ask them to be the jury.” He refused to elaborate, or speculate about who was responisble for the deaths.

The comments came after President Obama condemned the welcome Megrahi received in Libya as 'highly objectionable'.

Mr Obama's chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, earlier denounced the scenes in the Libyan capital Tripoli when returned home as "outrageous and disgusting".

Speaking before he left the White House to spend the weekend at Camp David, Mr Obama led US condemnation of the bomber's return.

"It was highly objectionable," he said in reference to the release and arrival at Tripoli's airport of Megrahi, where he was greeted by hundreds of people on Thursday night.

Mr Gibbs said: "The images that we saw in Libya yesterday were outrageous and disgusting. >>> James Kirkup and Aislinn Simpson | Friday, August 21, 2009

Al-Megrahi Calls Mother Who Says She Keeps the Door Open, Expecting Him to Enter at Any Moment
Hajja Fatma, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi’s mother. Photo: The Tripoli Post
THE TRIPOLI POST: Tripoli— Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan citizen imprisoned for 27 years in a Scottish jail, has called his mother on Wednesday telling her that he hoped to be with her by Ramadan.

The Tripoli Post learned on Thursday during an interview with Megrahi’s Mother and his elder brother that Abdelbaset Ali made a phone call to his mother from his cell in Greenock Prison and said "I hope by Ramadan I will be with you."

Al-Megrahi added on the phone that he was not officially informed of his release, according to his family.

When asked about her feelings that her son may be coming home soon, the 95-year old frail but upbeat Hajja Fatma said "I do not close the house’s door at all. I am expecting him to enter at any moment."

Hajja Fatma has not been informed by the family of her son's terminal illness out of fear that it would cause her much harm at such an old age. Al-Megrahi's mother will only realize the situation when she sees him.

However, she does look healthy and very upbeat but she is in a frail physical condition and has hypertension. Her family decided it would be better for her health if she was not exposed to all the facts.

With tears in her eyes, Hajja Fatma described how she would meet her son after serving over ten years [sic] in prison in England when he arrives: “I would run out to the street and hug him so tight[,]”

When asked about his innocence as far as the Lockerbie bombing is concerned and what would she tell the PanAm’s victims’ relatives, Hajja Fatma said with deep resolve “We told them that my son was innocent, that he would not slaughter a chicken at home and that he would not have caused the disaster of Lockerbie."

"Eleven years I did not spend the holy month of Ramadan with him, I am waiting for that day when he comes back," she added. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009

He Must be Released, Al-Megrahi Is Dying, Wife
THE TRIPOLI POST: The wife of the Libyan citizen Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who was unjustly convicted in the Loclerbie bombing, warned on Thursday that he was in danger of dying due to deteriorating cancer.

"His health has considerably deteriorated. He is in danger of dying," Aisha Megrahi told AFP. "The disease has spread across his body."

Megrahi is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years in a British prison for unfairly and unjustly convicted of downing a transatlantic US airliner over the Scottish village of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people.

He has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, according to his lawyers, but a Scottish court in November refused to free him on bail because of his health.

Defence lawyers say Megrahi's cancer is in a terminal phase but the Appeal Court in Edinburgh ruled that he could live for years depending on how successful his treatment is.

"While the disease from which the appellant suffers is incurable and may cause his death, he is not at present suffering material pain or disability," Lord Justice General Arthur Hamilton said at the time.

Aisha Megrahi said "they have refused to set him free. It is clear that the British prefer that he dies in jail."

She claimed that her husband "haemorrhaged several times recently."

"His body is not reacting any more to medication because of his bad psychological condition, according to a report by his doctor," she said, adding that she had visited him three times this month alone.

"Hospitals are refusing to admit him because of the exaggerated (police) surveillance involved in transferring him" from prison, she added.

Megrahi's wife said his family's "only wish is that he be transferred to a hospital or to our house in Scotland, so that he can spend what is left of his life with his family." >>> | Friday, August 27, 2009

Megrahi's Hero's Welcome in Libya Is an Insult
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – CON COUGHLIN: As expected the Lockerbie bomber has returned to a hero’s welcome in Libya. What was not quite so expected that the Libyans should rub salt into the wound by flying the Scottish flag. Well, at least it wasn’t the Union Jack.

Personally I cannot think of a more humiliating day for the Scottish people. Their government has allowed the man convicted of the worst terrorist atrocity in British - let alone Scottish history - to return home to die within the comforting embrace of his family - assuming, that is, he really is as sick as his surgeon’s claim.

This humane gesture was never afforded to the 270 victims of the Lockerbie bombing, and I very much doubt that the people of Lockerbie will reciprocate the gesture by flying the Libyan flag. [Source: The Telegraph] Con Coughlin | Friday, August 21, 2009

The Telegraph invites you to comment here

Prince Andrew Trip to Libya Could Be Cancelled Over Lockerbie Bomber
THE TELEGRAPH: The Duke of York may see plans for an official visit to Libya cancelled as an expression of British Government anger at Libyan celebrations of the return of the Lockerbie bomber.

There is growing anger in Britain at the reception granted to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi on his return to Libya after eight years in a Scottish jail.

Downing Street has also said that Gordon Brown had appealed to the Libyans not to give Megrahi a hero's welcome on his return.

In a letter to Col Gaddafi sent on Thursday, the Prime Minister asked the Libyans to "act with sensitivity" over the return of Megrahi.

Megrahi, the biggest mass murderer in British legal history, flew home to Tripoli on Thursday after being freed from jail on compassionate grounds by Scotland's devolved adminstration.

A large crowd gathered to greet his return, and he has been feted as a national hero.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that the reception Libya gave Megrahi was "deeply distressing".

The Foreign Office is now understood to be reviewing a plan for Prince Andrew to represent Britian [sic] at celebrations marking 40 years of Col Gaddafi's rule. >>> James Kirkup and Aislinn Simpson | Friday, August 21, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH:
Lockerbie bomber release: Reaction from American media >>> | Friday, August 21, 2009

Affaire Kadhafi: Le triomphe diplomatique libyen
20 MINUTES.ch: En obtenant jeudi la libération du Libyen condamné pour l'attentat de Lockerbie et des excuses suisses pour l'affaire de son fils Hannibal, Mouammar Kadhafi remporte un succès diplomatique retentissant, à une semaine du 40e anniversaire de son arrivée au pouvoir.

La remise en liberté jeudi d'Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, après un long feuilleton judiciaire et diplomatique, a coïncidé avec une visite surprise à Tripoli du président helvétique Hans-Rudolf Merz, venu s'excuser pour l'arrestation en juillet 2008 de Hannibal Kadhafi, une affaire qui empoisonne depuis les relations entre les deux pays.

Accueilli en héros à l'aéroport militaire de Maatiga à Tripoli, malgré les critiques de Washington et Londres, M. Megrahi était considéré officiellement par la Libye comme un «otage politique» entre les mains de l'Occident.

«Nous considérons que Megrahi est un combattant qui s'est sacrifié pour sa patrie et nous devons le respecter», a déclaré à l'AFP l'ancien ambassadeur de Libye à Londres et acteur clé dans le dossier Megrahi.

«Nous sommes contents de son retour (...) et nous considérons que sa libération est un acquis pour la Libye», a-t-il dit.

L'accueil chaleureux réservé à Abdelbaset Megrahi est une «revanche sur l'Occident, qui avait déroulé le tapis rouge pour les infirmières» et le médecin bulgares, au moment de leur libération en juillet 2007 après huit ans de détention en Libye«, estime un journaliste libyen. >>> afp | Vendredi 21 Août 2009

Libyen verlangt Repatriierung des Lockerbie-Attentäters
ber. Kairo, 8. Mai

NZZ ONLINE: Das Regime in Tripolis hat Grossbritannien gebeten, den in einem schottischen Gefängnis einsitzenden libyschen Häftling Abdulbaset al-Magrahi in seine Heimat ausreisen zu lassen. Magrahi war 2001 als Miturheber des Anschlags auf ein amerikanisches Verkehrsflugzeug über der schottischen Ortschaft Lockerbie zu 27 Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Libyen machte geltend, Magrahi habe wegen eines Prostatakrebses nur noch wenige Monate zu leben. Ein erst vor wenigen Tagen ratifiziertes Abkommen regelt den Gefangenenaustausch zwischen Libyen und Grossbritannien; es könnte es den Briten erlauben, Magrahi loszuwerden und nach Libyen abzuschieben. >>> | Samstag, 09. Mai 2009

Most Families Outraged at Pan Am 103 Bomber's Release
CNN: Victims' family members and advocates are grieving anew as the only man convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland -- which killed 270 people -- was released Thursday from a British prison.

"I feel sick. I feel depressed and outraged. I mean, I am just heartbroken," said Susan Cohen, whose daughter Theodora, a 20-year-old Syracuse University music student, was killed in the bombing.

Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, 57, sick with advanced prostate cancer, was released on compassionate grounds and sent home to Libya to die, Scottish authorities said. Megrahi, who prosecutors said was a Libyan intelligence agent, was convicted in 2001 of placing a bomb on the Boeing 747.

Libya has formally accepted responsibility for the bombing and has compensated the families, although longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi denied any culpability in the attack.

Cohen and others said international politics had trumped justice as U.S. and British relations with Gadhafi have thawed over the years.

"I feared they would do this," she said. "Now that they've made friends with Gadhafi ... the Western countries want to give him everything that he wants, appease him. He wanted Megrahi, they are rushing Megrahi out; they aren't even giving this a day. And the tiny little shred of justice we had is gone."

"I thought that our governments, both the U.S. and the U.K., owed it to the victims and their families to ensure that Megrahi would fulfill his sentence," said Victoria Cummock, whose husband, John, died in the attack. "If he did the crime, he should do the time. ... (But) when you try to combine politics with justice, politics always wins."

"I expected this," said Mark Zaid, a Washington-based lawyer for several victims' families. "I work with governments all the time, and governments do not act to protect the interests of the people, they act to protect the interests of the country. And those are different."

Zaid said he might file a lawsuit under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act to learn what the governments promised each other to accomplish Megrahi's release.

It especially galls the families that Megrahi's release was on compassionate grounds.

"This is mercy?" Cohen said. "Do you know what I've been living with for over 20 years now? This man deserves no compassion. He is a convicted mass murderer and terrorist. What have we come to, that this man is released?"

Added Cummock: "I think it's unconscionable that he would have the audacity to apply on compassionate grounds to be released and that they would actually consider it. Nevertheless, not only did they consider it, they granted it. "I think it's a huge disservice, not only to the families but also for the people of Lockerbie >>> Jim Kavanagh | Thursday, August 20, 2009

Leading Article: Return Flight
TIMES ONLINE: The decision to release the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing was taken with all due consideration and compassion. But it is the wrong decision all the same

There is no question at all about Mr MacAskill’s legitimacy in making this decision. There are anomalies about the constitutional settlement between the nations of the British Union but no doubt that the relevant authority is that of Mr MacAskill. As he said at great length in his statement, Mr MacAskill followed due process meticulously. In a long list of parties and guidelines consulted he namechecked the prisoner transfer agreement (PTA), the Scottish Prison Service guidance on compassionate release, the families of victims, a woman from Spain whose sister was a member of the cabin crew, Hillary Clinton, the US Attorney-General, Eric Holder, Abdul Ati al-Obidi and his delegation from the Libyan Government, the Westminster Joint Committee on Human Rights, Jack Straw, Section 3 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, the governor of Greenock prison, the Parole Board, the director of health and care for the Scottish Prison Service and, of course, the prisoner al-Megrahi himself. We might say that Mr MacAskill was at great pains to establish his authority.

So there is no question about the source of the decision. But, unfortunately, Mr MacAskill’s statement raised plenty of questions about its content. There are three things about Mr MacAskill’s statement that leave a sour taste, by far the most bitter of which is the decision itself. >>> | Friday, August 21, 2009

Nerves Show as Kenny MacAskill Faces the World’s Media
TIMES ONLINE: Kenny MacAskill, a Scottish politician who would probably be unrecognised on the streets of Glasgow, strode confidently into the Scottish government’s media lounge to deliver the statement that the world was waiting for.

Mindful of his international audience and taking into account the hours of media advice he has been given from advisers who lined the room, his usual rapid-fire delivery slowed to a plodding pace.

The opening of his carefully prepared announcement in which he recalled the night that 259 bodies fell from the sky over Lockerbie, in a bombing that killed 11 people in the town below, took on the tone of an inappropriate Jackanory episode.

“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.”

Until yesterday he was best known as the man who wanted to rid Scotland of its booze-and-blade culture. Now Mr MacAskill, a mild-mannered, liberal-minded lawyer, will go down in history as the man who allowed one of the world’s most notorious mass-murdering terrorists to walk free from jail. >>> Lorraine Davidson | Friday, August 21, 2009

An Affront to Justice
DAILY EXPRESS: OUTRAGE spread across the globe last night as the man responsible for the murder of 270 innocent people in the Lockerbie bombing was freed on “compassionate” grounds.

Grieving relatives insisted that 57-year-old Abdel Basset al-Megrahi should have been left to rot in prison.

Clad in a white shell-suit, baseball cap and scarf, Megrahi was able to walk up the steps of the private Libyan charter jet waiting at Glasgow airport to take him home to Tripoli, despite terminal cancer leaving him with just months to live.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill claimed Megrahi’s release would show the world that Scotland was a compassionate country. But the act brought worldwide condemnation.

US President Bar­ack Obama branded it “a mistake” and David Cameron called it a “very bad” decision.

Those who lost loved ones called it an affront to justice and said Megrahi should only be going home “in a box”. >>> Gabriel Milland | Friday, August 21, 2009

David Cameron Condemns Lockerbie Bomber al-Megrahi's Release

Lockerbie Bomber Arrives in Libya


Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi Flies Home to Hero’s Welcome
TIMES ONLINE: The Lockerbie bomber flew out of Britain yesterday as a dying man deserving of compassion — and landed in Libya a national hero.

A crowd of thousands, many waving Scottish flags, gathered at Tripoli airport to welcome Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi as he stepped down from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s private jet to the strains of patriotic music.

He had changed from a white tracksuit and baseball cap into a dark suit and tie during the flight and was leaning on a gold-rimmed walking stick as he emerged from the aircraft to be hugged by Colonel Gaddafi’s son.

He was then taken in a motorcade to the city centre, where the main square was lit up in green and blue in preparation for a celebration that included a feast and laser show. The pan-Arab television channel Al-Jazeera reported that al-Megrahi’s car was held up along the way by the throng.

In the city centre groups of young men, many in white baseball caps like the one al-Megrahi was wearing when he left Glasgow, dashed excitedly from one side of the square to the other trying to catch a glimpse of the bomber. >>> Tim Reid, Philip Webster and Charlene Sweeny | Friday, August 21, 2009

Hero's Welcome for Lockerbie Bomber Who Slaughtered 270 as Shabby Political Deal Provokes U.S. Outrage
MAIL ONLINE: This was the moment the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing flew home to a hero's welcome.

As thousands cheered, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was escorted down the steps of his plane by Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Earlier this month, Saif Gaddafi met Lord Mandelson in Corfu, raising suspicions that a deal was being made to free 57-year-old Megrahi. >>> David Williams and Ian Drury | Friday 21, 2009

A Criminal Injustice
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The release of the Lockerbie Bomber demonstrates fecklessness, not compassion.

Libya had a plane waiting for terrorist Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi even before Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill had announced the Libyan's release from jail yesterday. Within hours of the announcement, Megrahi, convicted under Scottish law for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in which 270 people were killed, was on his way home, flying safely through the same skies his victims had been blown out of 21 years ago.

In making his announcement of Megrahi's release on "compassionate grounds," Mr. MacAskill intoned that "when such an appalling crime is committed, it is appropriate that a severe sentence be imposed." Imposed, perhaps—but not carried out. Megrahi served less than a third of the 27 year "minimum" demanded in his 2001 life sentence. That works out to 11.6 days in prison for each of his victims, or about 14 days if you count from the time of his 1999 arrest.

Whatever else Megrahi's release is, then, it is not justice. The argument for compassion rests on Megrahi's case of advanced and apparently terminal prostate cancer. We're not sure what "compassion" is owed to a man by a country already too compassionate to apply the death penalty to mass murderers. Nor do we quite understand what Mr. MacAskill intended by his remark that Megrahi may face "a sentence imposed by a higher power." In this world, it makes no small difference to a man whether he ends his days in a foreign prison or in the bosom of his family and country. >>> | Thursday, August 20, 2009

Lockerbie Bomber: His Release Is a Mistake, Says President Obama
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama described the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi as a "mistake" and called on the Libyan government to place him under house arrest.

In a live radio interview, the president said the United States administration had been in contact with the Scottish Government to register its objection to the move.

He also called on Libya to ensure Megrahi is not given a welcome back to his home country after being released today from a Scottish prison.

But thousands were on hand to greet him warmly when his plane from Scotland touched down at a military airport in Tripoli. There was a festive atmosphere with some wearing T-shirts with Megrahi's picture. Others waved flags while Libyan songs blared.

Megrahi, the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, continued to protest his innocence and expressed his "sympathy" with the victims of the tragedy after being released from prison on compassionate grounds. >>> Lucy Cockcroft and Matthew Moore | Thursday, August 20, 2009

Watch BBC video:
Obama says Megrahi release a 'mistake' >>>

Watch BBC video:
Lockerbie bomber freed from jail >>>

BBC:
Megrahi: 'A convenient scapegoat?' >>> | Thursday, August 20, 2009

BBC: A woman whose husband died in the Lockerbie bombing has said convicted bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi should have spent the rest of his sentence in jail.

Widow Stephanie Bernstein said in releasing Megrahi on the grounds of his terminal illness, a ''mass murderer'' had been allowed to go free.

Watch BBC video:
Widow's anger at release of bomber >>>

In Full: Statement from Megrahi
BBC: After leaving HM Prison Greenock after being released on compassionate grounds, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi released the following statement:

"I am obviously very relieved to be leaving my prison cell at last and returning to Libya, my homeland.

I would like to first of all take the opportunity to extend my gratitude to the many people of Scotland, and elsewhere, who have sent me their good wishes.

I bear no ill will to the people of Scotland; indeed, it is one of my regrets that I have been unable to experience any meaningful aspect of Scottish life, or to see your country.

To the staff in HM Prison Greenock, and before that at HM Prison Barlinnie, I wish to express thanks for the kindness that they were able to show me.

For those who assisted in my medical and nursing care; who tried to make my time here as comfortable as possible, I am of course grateful.

My legal team has worked tirelessly on my behalf; I wish to thank Advocates Margaret Scott QC, Jamie Gilchrist QC, Shelagh McCall and Martin Richardson together with the team at Taylor & Kelly, for all of their gallant efforts in my bid to clear my name.

I know they share, in no small measure, my disappointment about the abandonment of my appeal.

Many people, including the relatives of those who died in, and over, Lockerbie, are, I know, upset that my appeal has come to an end; that nothing more can be done about the circumstances surrounding the Lockerbie bombing.

I share their frustration. I had most to gain and nothing to lose about the whole truth coming out - until my diagnosis of cancer.

To those victims' relatives who can bear to hear me say this: they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered.

>>> | Thursday, August 20, 2009

Lockerbie Bomber Released and to Return to Libya a Free Man
THE TELEGRAPH: The Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, has been released from prison in Scotland and can return to Libya a free man after serving eight years of his life sentence.

Lockerbie bomber released
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced his release on compassionate grounds in a press conference.

Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, could be on his way home within hours to spend his dying days with his family.

Sources at a military airport near Tripoli, Libya, said that the plane which will take him back home was en-route to Glasgow Airport earlier today, suggesting he could leave this afternoon.

Megrahi, 57, was convicted of killing 270 people in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight. Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the airliner explosion.

The decision to free him is likely to cause outrage in the United States, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hoped he would stay behind bars.

Mr MacAskill made the announcement at the Scottish Government's ministerial headquarters in Edinburgh. >>> | Thursday, August 20, 2009

Watch BBC video Lockerbie bomber to be released >>>

Megrahi Walks Up the Steps to Freedom
Photo: The Independent
THE INDEPENDENT: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was today released from prison to die with his family in Libya.
Megrahi, who has terminal cancer, was driven from HMP Greenock in a white van escorted by three police cars, another van and five motorcycles.

The convoy set off on the 16-mile journey to Glasgow airport, where a jet was waiting to return him to Tripoli, after he was released on compassionate grounds by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.

Megrahi, 57, has served eight years of a life sentence for murdering 270 people when a Pan Am plane was blown up over Lockerbie in 1988.

Dozens of journalists from around the world were outside the entrance of the jail as its blue automatic door slid open to let the convicted bomber out at 2.36pm.

The convoy arrived at Glasgow airport at around at around 3.05pm. Megrahi was taken straight on to the tarmac where the plane was waiting.

After a short delay, the bomber, wearing a baseball cap, left the van and slowly walked with a stick up the stairs on to the jet.
In a move that has caused outrage in the United States, Mr MacAskill said Megrahi would now be released early from prison today.

He said Megrahi "now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power".

Mr MacAskill added: "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 a statement that lasted more than 20 minutes, Mr MacAskill said Megrahi had shown no compassion to his victims, but added: "That alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days."

Mr MacAskill said: "I am conscious there are deeply held feelings and that many will disagree whatever my decision. However a decision has to be made.

"Scotland will forever remember the crime that has been perpetrated against our people and those from many other lands, the pain and suffering will remain forever.

"Some hurt can never heal, some scars can never fade. Those who have been bereaved cannot be expected to forget, let alone forgive. Their pain runs deep and the wounds remain." >>> Press Association | Thursday, August 20, 2009

MacAskill's full statement on Lockerbie bomber >>> Press Association | Thursday, August 20, 2009

Cameron Condemns Lockerbie Bomber's Release
THE INDEPENDENT: The decision to free Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was greeted with mixed reactions today.

Conservative Party leader David Cameron said: "I think this is wrong and it's the product of some completely nonsensical thinking, in my view.

"This man was convicted of murdering 270 people, he showed no compassion to them, they weren't allowed to go home and die with their relatives in their own bed and I think this is a very bad decision."

But Tam Dalyell, the former Labour MP and ex-father of the House of Commons, who has persistently claimed that Megrahi was innocent, said today: "Mr MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Minister, has arrived at the right decision on compassionate grounds.

"I do not accept his endorsement of the guilt of Mr Megrahi, whom I continue to believe had nothing whatsoever to do with the crime of Lockerbie."

Kara Weipz, 36, who lost her student brother Rick, 20, in the atrocity, condemned the decision.

Speaking from her home in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, she said: "I think it's an absolutely horrible decision.

"I don't know how you show compassion to someone who has shown no remorse for what he has done and as Mr MacAskill praised the justice system and the investigation and the trial, how do you then show this person compassion? It's just utterly despicable.

"I think he should have died in prison. Why should he be returned to Libya?

"That's not what we were promised. We were always told he would serve out his full sentence in Scotland."

Scottish Labour criticised the decision to release Megrahi.

Labour leader and MSP Iain Gray said: "If I was First Minister, Megrahi would not be going back to Libya. The decision to release him is wrong.

"He was convicted of the worst terrorist atrocity in our history, the mass murder of 270 people.

"While one can have sympathy for the family of a gravely ill prisoner, on balance our duty is to honour and respect the victims of Lockerbie and have compassion for them.

"The SNP's handling of this case has let down Scotland." >>> Press Association | Thursday, August 20, 2009

Lockerbie Bomber’s Private Jet to Freedom Courtesy of Gaddafi
TIMES ONLINE: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi will send his private jet to collect the Lockerbie bomber and take him home to Libya if, as expected, he is released from jail today on compassionate grounds.

Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, said that he would announce at 1pm his decision on whether Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi should be freed, but he gave no indication last night as to what that decision would be.

A luxury aircraft was scheduled to collect the bomber at Glasgow airport yesterday for his triumphant return to Tripoli, but the flight was cancelled at lunchtime because Mr MacAskill’s advisers were still locked in talks after intense diplomatic pressure from America to keep al-Megrahi in jail.

The prisoner, who is terminally ill with prostate cancer, called his wife, Aisha, from Greenock prison, saying that he was still uncertain about his fate. “He didn’t know when he will be released,” the mother of five told The Times. “He is happy [about the news] but he is very ill and waiting to find out what will happen to him.”

His mother said that he had called her and said that he hoped to be with her by Ramadan. Hajja Fatma, 95, told the Tripoli Post that she didn’t dare to close her front door: “I am expecting him to enter at any moment.” >>> David Brown, Charlene Sweeney and Richard Kerbaj | Thursday, August 20, 2009

Hillary Clinton in Last-ditch Intervention in Lockerbie Case
TIMES ONLINE: Hillary Clinton has made a last-minute attempt to intervene in the Lockerbie bomber case, warning the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill that it would be "absolutely wrong" to release him from jail.

Spurning diplomatic channels, the US Secretary of State gave a public statement to reporters in Washington saying that Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Libyan spy who was jailed in 2001 for blowing up Pan Am flight 103 with the loss of 270 lives, should not be released on compassionate grounds or granted a transfer to a Libyan jail but should die in prison.

The statement comes after Mrs Clinton's private phone call to Mr MacAskill last week to warn him against agreeing to either of the requests lodged by al-Megrahi, who is terminally ill with prostate cancer.

Mrs Clinton was spurred to intervene again after the High Court in Edinburgh ruled yesterday that al-Megrahi could withdraw his legal attempt to clear his name, removing one procedural hurdle to his return to his homeland.

“I just think it is absolutely wrong to release someone who has been imprisoned based on the evidence about his involvement in such a horrendous crime,” said Mrs Clinton, a former Senator for New York State from where many of the Lockerbie victims were drawn.

“We are still encouraging the Scottish authorities not to do so and we hope that they will not.” >>> Jenny Booth | Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Hillary Clinton Reaffirms US Stance on Lockerbie Bomber

Warum Gaddafis Sohn die Politik verlässt
Foto von Seif al-Islam dankt der Welt
WELT ONLINE: Er war mit der einzige, der den libyschen Revolutionsführer Muammar al-Gaddafi ungestraft kritisieren durfte: Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, Sohn des umstrittenen Potentaten. Der Westen hätte in ihm gerne Gaddafis Nachfolger gesehen. Doch Seif al-Islam gab seinen Rückzug aus der Politik bekannt – auf Druck seines Vaters.

Ob beim Friseur oder im Basar, in Damaskus, Beirut oder Rabat – wo immer man nach Muammar al-Gaddafi fragt, wird der Finger unter die Nase gehalten und das Schnupfen eines Kokainsüchtigen simuliert. Was der Mann von der Straße dem libyschen Revolutionsführer unterstellt, würde seinen unausgeschlafenen Eindruck sowie seine Unberechenbarkeit erklären.

Anfang August stoppte Gaddafi alle Öllieferungen an die Schweiz, nachdem dort einer seiner sechs Söhne wegen Misshandlung der eigenen Angestellten verhaftet worden war. Schweizer Firmen in Libyen, inklusive Nestlé, wurden geschlossen, zwei Schweizer Staatsbürger verhaftet.

Für Muammar Gaddafi ist das alles business as usual, schließlich diktiert er die Rechtsstaatlichkeit. Politisch Andersdenkende werden verfolgt, unliebsame Presseberichte bestraft und unabhängige Nichtregierungsorganisationen nicht zugelassen. Punkte, die Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, der zweitgeborene und politisch engagierte Sohn des Revolutionsführers – im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Libyern – ungestraft kritisierte.

Vergangene Woche hielt er in Sebah, einer Wüstensiedlung im Süden des Landes, eine seiner kritischen live im Fernsehen übertragenen Reden. Seif al-Islam forderte bessere Lebensbedingungen für die Bevölkerung, den Aufbau der nicht existenten Zivilgesellschaft, eine rechtschaffene Justiz und eine freie Presse. Obwohl es wie eine Wahlkampfrede klang, verkündete der 36-Jährige im Anschluss seinen Rückzug aus der Politik. Warum Gaddafis Sohn die Politik verlässt >>> Von Alfred Hackensberger | 26. August 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Gaddafi Son Says Lockerbie Families Were ‘Greedy’: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's son has accused relatives of the Lockerbie bombing victims of "trading with the blood of their sons and daughters” in their demands for compensation.

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, who is seen as the leading candidate to succeed his father as Libyan leader, said that the Lockerbie families were "very greedy” during negotiations over payouts for the deaths of loved ones.

Mr Gaddafi also told BBC2’s The Conspiracy Files that the Libyan government had only taken responsibility for Britain’s worst terrorist attack in order to get international sanctions lifted. >>> | August 29, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) >>>