What price for justice? Scotland plumbs the dustbin over Lockerbie

From the Stratfor Intelligence newsletter: On Aug. 24, 2009 Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill addressed a special session of the Scottish Parliament. The session was called so that MacAskill could explain why he had decided to release Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of terrorism charges in connection with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, and who had been expected to spend the rest of his life in prison. MacAskill said he granted al-Megrahi a compassionate release because al-Megrahi suffers from terminal prostate cancer and is expected to live only a few months. The Aug. 20 release of al-Megrahi ignited outrage in both the United Kingdom and the United States and FBI Director Robert Mueller released to the press contents of an uncharacteristically blunt and critical letter he had written to MacAskill in which Mueller characterized al-Megrahi’s release as inexplicable and “detrimental to the cause of justice.” Mueller told MacAskill in the letter that the release “makes a mockery of the rule of law.”

Al-Megrahi received a hero’s welcome upon his arrival in Tripoli, Libya with global broadcast footage of him being welcomed and embraced by Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi (pictured left above ).

The Scottish Government should never have released this intelligence agent regardless of the compassionate grounds stated relating to a terminal health diagnosis or the concern about martydom. The total loss of life involved from the terrorism act was 243 passengers, 16 flight crew from the aircraft and 11 people on the ground in the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland (who were killed by parts of the falling aircraft). From the forensic investigation it was found that a number of people had survived the initial breakup of the aircraft in flight until impact on the ground below. Libya continues to deny responsibility for the action although its agent was convicted and the country itself paid compensation to the families of those affected.