US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday night condemned the early release of the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, accusing the Scottish government of ignoring repeated US demands to keep him in prison until he died.
Intensifying the pressure on Alex Salmond, the first minister, Clinton implied strongly that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s early release from prison a year ago after a life sentence for killing 270 people in the bombing, and his continued survival long beyond the three months predicted by Scottish ministers, meant justice for the families of the dead had been denied.
She said the US continued to “categorically disagree” with the decision to release the former Libyan intelligence agent last year and allow him to return to Tripoli.
A US embassy memo sent to the Scottish ministers before Megrahi was returned to Libya argued against his release, but accepted the Libyan could be freed to live at home or in hospital in Scotland. It also urged ministers to get rigorous external medical advice to prove Megrahi was close to death — advice they ignored.
“As we have expressed repeatedly to Scottish authorities, we maintain that al-Megrahi should serve out the entirety of his sentence in prison in Scotland. We have and will continue to reiterate this position to the Scottish and Libyan authorities,” she said. “We extend our deepest sympathies to the families who lost loved ones and share their desire for justice to prevail.”
Clinton’s remarks came as Megrahi enjoyed muted celebrations at his home in Tripoli, exactly a year after he was released from Greenock prison, Scotland, on compassionate grounds, after serving eight years of a 27-year-minimum sentence.
The Libyan, who continues to insist that he was wrongly convicted, is terminally ill with inoperable prostate cancer. The disease is understood to have spread to his glands, internal organs and bones, but other sources in Libya say he could live a further seven years thanks to enhanced medical treatment in Tripoli.
A group of four US senators pressing for a fresh inquiry into Megrahi’s release said earlier that a “cloud of suspicion” and “outstanding questions” still hung over the decision. US Senator Robert Menendez said there was anger and frustration in the US that the Libyan was “still very much alive and very much free.”
Salmond again insisted that his government had released Megrahi in good faith after receiving expert advice from Dr Andrew Fraser, the head of medical services with the Scottish prison service. Fraser was a “physician of great experience” and personal integrity, Salmond said on BBC Radio Scotland.
“All we ask people to do is to accept it was a decision that was made in good faith following the due procedures that we have under the legislation and under the tenets of Scots law,” Salmond said.
However, a new opinion poll found that Scottish public opposition to Megrahi’s release had hardened. The Ipsos/Mori poll, carried out for STV (Scottish TV broadcaster), found that 54 percent of Scots disagreed with Megrahi’s early release, with 35 percent agreeing.
A year ago, opinion was far more evenly split, with 46 percent against his release and 42 percent in favor of it.
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