Sunday, August 23, 2009

Lockerbie minister facing critics



Mr MacAskill the Scottich Justice Secretary releashed Terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.
will explain his actions to MSPs at Holyrood.


Terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.




Alex Salmond, the First Minister, has confirmed that he would resign if the Holyrood vote went against him

The Scottish justice secretary will be forced to defend his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber, as the Scottish Parliament is recalled later.

Opposition parties will demand to know how Kenny MacAskill aims to repair the damage they claimed had been done to Scotland's global reputation.

He has been under huge pressure, after granting early release to terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

The 57-year-old, who has prostate cancer, returned home to Libya on Thursday to jubilant scenes which included people waving Scottish flags.

Scottish ministers said their decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds - which has been strongly criticised by the US government - followed due process and was the right one.


They also insisted he must reveal whether any deals were done "behind the scenes" in relation to the early release, and address claims Megrahi was pressurised into his decision to drop the appeal against his conviction.

Ministers said they understood the upset, but were duty-bound to take the right decision in the eyes of the Scottish legal system. US president Barack Obama and FBI boss Robert Mueller have both hit out at Mr MacAskill's decision.

The Scottish Parliament, which had not been due back in Edinburgh from summer recess until the start of September, has only been recalled on two previous occasions in its 10 year history.

These came following the deaths of former first minister Donald Dewar, in 2000, and the Queen Mother, in 2002.




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Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announces the release of the Lockerbie bomber


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Huge crowds in Libya have welcomed Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bombing convict freed from a Scottish prison. The US, whose nationals accounted for the majority of the 270 that perished in the bombing, has called the decision to free al-Megrahi a "mistake".

Al-Megrahi is the only man to be convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, which blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. He is now dying of cancer, but for many of his victims' families, his release on compassionate grounds is a travesty of justice.


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Abdelbaset al-Megrahi has boarded a plane to go home to Libya after being freed by the Scottish justice secretary

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