Now that Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi has been found alive if not well, we are hearing the siren voices of revenge demanding his extradition. Interestingly the Groan’s straw poll shows a majority so far suggesting that the new government in Tripoli shouldn’t cave in. I agree, they shouldn’t.
Firstly, Megrahi’s release from prison followed Scottish law. That he lived longer than the three months expected is neither here nor there. Frankly, it was a pity that he had to give up his appeal. Had he managed to continue with it, it is entirely possible that the conviction would have been overturned. As I mentioned at the time of his release, the whole conviction was suspect and I suspect that the release on medical grounds was a way around a difficult situation before it finally came to fruition in the form of a successful appeal.
That his conviction was based upon a process that was deeply flawed, that it was based upon a supposed eyewitness who was allegedly paid makes no dent in the conviction[sic] of those in the USA who want vengeance – on anyone, even if they didn’t do it.
The former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told BBC Radio 5 live Megrahi should have been given the death penalty and was lucky to be alive.
Mr Bolton said Megrahi should be in jail and called for him to extradited.
“To me it will be a signal of how serious the rebel government is for good relations with the United States and the West if they hand over Megrahi for trial,” he said.
“He killed 270 people. He served roughly 10 years in jail before he was released by British authorities. Do the math – that means he served roughly two weeks in prison for every person he killed. Two weeks per murder. That is not nearly enough.”
Where to start with such utter claptrap? Firstly, we do not know that he was guilty of the offence. That a court finds someone guilty and actual guilt are not necessarily the same thing. While we indulge in puerile games of winners and losers there will continue to be miscarriages of justice – and that merely applies to the usual run of the mill cases before a jury – let alone the kangaroo one faced by Megrahi. So, no, John Bolton does not know that this man is guilty – therefore stating that he should have been executed is way, way over the top, but typical of the hard of thinking acting on emotion rather than facts and evidence – of which there was a dearth pointing to Megrahi’s guilt.
As for the last statement, I really do hope that the new government in Tripoli sticks to its guns on this one – not just because of the doubt over one man’s guilt, but because they do need to send a message to the US and any other government that expects them to roll over and have their tummy tickled. Good relations does not mean subservience. They need to show an assertive, firm and independent approach to international relations. They need to start as they mean to go on. Early signs are promising and the USA can boil its collective head.
Other voices are more reasonable.
But Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the blast, said he believed Megrahi was innocent and hoped he was getting decent pain relief at home with his family.
“I feel extremely resentful that the murder of my lovely elder daughter Flora should be embedded in what I’m satisfied is in fact a tissue of lies which led to a politically useful outcome,” he said.
Indeed. The whole thing had dirty politics written all over it. Locking up the wrong person – if that is what they did – does not mean that justice was served, quite the opposite.
As it is, the situation will probably resolve itself in fairly short order. Megrahi will succumb to his cancer and that will be that. Unless the voices of vengeance want to do to him what Charles II did to Cromwell…
Well the countries of NATO have extracted their pound(s) of flesh by murdering countless innocent Libyan civilians, the Libyan civilians that they were mandated, by the UN, to protect.
Not in my name.
Couldn’t agree more, LR. I don’t know if he was stitched up but I find it hard to believe that a jury wouldn’t have felt there was reasonable doubt, and I can’t help feeling his conviction had a lot to do with the fact he didn’t fucking get one.
Wonder who did do it then.
Who knows? We will probably never know. What is evident is that Megrahi’s trial was anything but fair.
Completely agree LR.
I wonder what it is that the Americans want to hide. Nothing will be acheved by returning Megrahi to prison – if anything should be investigated it should be the complicity of Gordon Brown in securing Megrahi’s release. What was promised in return by Gadaffi?
I, for one, don’t believe that the decision was an entirely Scottish government decision.
Given the enmity between Holyrood and Westminster, I am unconvinced. Indeed, if I was of a conspiratorial theorising bent, I could almost believe that Salmond’s mob did it deliberately to cause Brown and co difficulty on the international stage, knowing that the Yanks haven’t the first clue about devolved government. However, that would require a degree of forethought and Machiavellian shenanigans that is way beyond the average politician.