Lockerbie bomber's release agreed

[buster_broon]

The Lockerbie bomber is to be released on compassionate grounds, the Scottish Government has announced.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill revealed that the Libyan, who has terminal prostate cancer, would be allowed to return to his homeland.

The BBC understands he will be flown to Tripoli on a specially chartered plane due to leave Glasgow after 1400 BST.

The government said it had consulted widely before Mr MacAskill made his decision on applications for Megrahi's compassionate release or his transfer to a Libyan jail.

He told a media conference on Thursday that he had rejected the application for a prisoner transfer.

However, after taking medical advice it was expected that three months was a "reasonable estimate" of the time Megrahi had left to live.

He ruled out the option of the Libyan being allowed to live in Scotland on security grounds.

Clear evidence

And he stressed that he accepted the conviction and sentence which had been handed to Megrahi.

Mr MacAskill had been under intense pressure from the US government to keep Megrahi behind bars, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying his release would be "absolutely wrong".

Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the airliner explosion.

However, the Scottish Government insisted the decision had been reached "on the basis of clear evidence and on no other factors".

Families of victims of the bombing gave a mixed response after the BBC reported news of his imminent release.

Well i'm sure as i type this there is a fleet of B52 bombers heading towards Scotland with a full complement of 'Daisy-cutter' bombs

[beecee]

[abigsmurf]

He probably would have won an appeal. There was all sorts of dodgyness regarding his trial and the evidence against him. He was obviously promised compassionate release on the condition the appeal was dropped.

[funkydan]

8 years in prison is no way enough incarceration for him. He killed 270 people, he should at least have to die in prison. The people on that flight never got a reprieve, they were just all murdered in cold blood by this f*cking tit! I hope his insides rot so much that his cock falls off

[SUMIRE]

The problem with this is the message it sends out to people. What you can do and get away with.

[buster_broon]

21 years in prison is no way enough incarceration for him. He killed 270 people, he should at least have to die in prison. The people on that flight never got a reprieve, they were just all murdered in cold blood by this f*cking tit! I hope his insides rot so much that his cock falls off :grr:

[/RANT]

he only really did 8 years in prison because he wasnt convicted until 2001

[ChrisF]

21 years in prison is no way enough incarceration for him. He killed 270 people, he should at least have to die in prison. The people on that flight never got a reprieve, they were just all murdered in cold blood by this f*cking tit! I hope his insides rot so much that his cock falls off :grr:

[/RANT]

I didn't see that as a rant. Just pure facts. I totally agree with you. Pretty disgusted at him being released. He shouldn't have been shown any compassion. The fact he was allowed to live, at tax payers expense, in a jail cell was more compassion that was needed given the circumstances.

[Spatial]

The problem with this is the message it sends out to people. What you can do and get away with.

I wouldn't call eight years of prison and then rapidly wasting away from Cancer `getting away with it`.

He's had a much greater sentence imposed on him by the big man upstairs.

[funkydan]

I'm pretty sure he wasn't out on bail between 1988 and 2001, he would have been in custody I think.

[funkydan]

I wouldn't call eight years of prison and then rapidly wasting away from Cancer `getting away with it`.

He's had a much greater sentence imposed on him by the big man upstairs.

Dude, he was responsible for the deaths of 270 people! Two hundred and seventy fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, friends, colleagues! He should have been given 20 years for each person who passed away and left to literally rot in prison for 5400 concurent years until his remains/dust could be swept into a used condom and flung over a cliff edge onto poisoned spikes covered with dust mites that would eat the fetid crumbs of him that remained - end of!

[buster_broon]

I'm pretty sure he wasn't out on bail between 1988 and 2001, he would have been in custody I think.

he was under house arrest from 1991 - 1999, then he was handed over to the Netherlands (Neutral) and spent 2 years over there

prior to that he was free

so lets be honest house arrest in Tripoli, do you class that as jail time

hey you killed over 270 people, here have an ankle tag in your own home

[buster_broon]

I'm kinda glad there was alot of good feeling between the UK (Westminister) and the US because we've just stripped alot of that away

even though Scotland is partially devolved, this will still hit the UK hard with international friends

[funkydan]

No mate, sorry, I hadn't been aware of those facts, I shall update my OP accordingly. F*cking travesty of justice for those who lost family and friends in this tragic event

[Spatial]

Dude, he was responsible for the deaths of 270 people! Two hundred and seventy fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, friends, colleagues! He should have been given 20 years for each person who passed away and left to literally rot in prison for 5400 concurent years until his remains/dust could be swept into a used condom and flung over a cliff edge onto poisoned spikes covered with dust mites that would eat the fetid crumbs of him that remained - end of!

You're missing my point.

I'm not saying it's right, I was responding to Sumire's comment that he was getting away with it. Some people seem to be missing that he isn't skipping off into the Libyan sunset for a tea party and a life as a national hero. He's going to die a very nasty death, very soon.

I find the notion that there'll now be a load of terrorists and malfeasants lining up to blow the **** out of everything because it won't matter if they say they're dying, to be ludicrous.

I'm kinda glad there was alot of good feeling between the UK (Westminister) and the US because we've just stripped alot of that away

even though Scotland is partially devolved, this will still hit the UK hard with international friends

Yep, I bet the Americans are fuming over this.

[abigsmurf]

Here's a decent article about the dodgyness surrounding his conviction:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8211596.stm

He was convicted largely on the basis that a piece of clothing used to wrap the bomb was bought from a shop he had bought something from and this clothing was only found a few months after the crash.