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| Dying Lockerbie bomber refused bail | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 14 2008, 03:40 PM (49 Views) | |
| XNavyGunner | Nov 14 2008, 03:40 PM Post #1 |
Gunner
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The former Libyan intelligence agent convicted of the Lockerbie bombing failed today in his bid to be granted bail. The defence team for Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi applied for his interim release from jail pending the outcome of an appeal against his conviction. It was disclosed last month that he is suffering from prostate cancer and it has spread to other parts of his body. However, judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh refused their request. Lord Hamilton, the Lord Justice General, told the court that they were not persuaded that his health was sufficiently critical to grant his release given the seriousness of his offence. Al-Megrahi, 56, who has consistently protested his innocence, is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years after being convicted in 2001 of the atrocity. All 259 men, women and children on board the aircraft died, along with 11 residents of the Scottish Borders town, who were killed by falling wreckage. Initial inquiries suggested the involvement of a terrorist group from Syria, but suspicion later switched to Libya. Al-Megrahi was found guilty after a unique trial, held in the Netherlands but under Scottish law. Lord Hamilton said: "The critical question, as the court sees it, is, against the background of the atrocity of which the applicant stands convicted, whether the applicant’s health, present and prospective, is such as the court should on compassionate grounds now admit him to bail. “On balance the court is not persuaded, on the information before it, that it should. “While the disease from which the appellant suffers is incurable and may cause his death, he is not at present suffering material pain or disability.” The judges said that they would consider a fresh application if the prognosis of the Libyan became “both more certain and poorer”. The lawyers for al-Megrahi applied for bail after the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission referred his case back to court in June last year. The commission found six grounds that may have constituted a miscarriage of justice. At a hearing last week his legal team argued that the strength of his appeal, delays in the appeal process and his deteriorating health combined to create a “compelling” case for his release. Lord Hamilton said today that there was no “definitive conclusion” that there had been a miscarriage of justice. He also pointed out that the plans of the defence team to bring forth evidence at the appeal other than that highlighted by the commission is likely to make the process protracted. Al-Megrahi, he said, “cannot complain if an early resolution becomes impossible”. In a statement read outside the court by Tony Kelly, al-Megrahi’s solicitor, the Libyan said that he was distressed by the outcome but insisted he would continue the fight to clear his name. “I’m very distressed that the court has refused me bail pending the hearing of my appeal and the chance to spend my remaining time with my family,” the statement said. “I wish to reiterate I’ve nothing whatsoever to do with the Lockerbie bombing and our fight for justice will continue whether I am alive to witness to my name being cleared.” Robert Black, the retired Edinburgh law professor who was instrumental in arranging the trial of al-Megrahi in Camp Zeist, said he was disappointed but not surprised that the court had refused to grant bail. “It would have required something really exceptional by way of injury to his health to overcome the fact he murdered 270 people. The court is of the view that his health has not reached that state,” he said. Professor Black also read aloud a statement from Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the atrocity. In the statement Dr Swire, who is on holiday in Spain, said: “It seems tragic that Scottish justice has missed a gold opportunity to display mercy in a situation where it has been unable to complete the appeal process within a reasonable time frame. It must bear some responsibility for the dilemmas posed by having a dying man in its custody, whose guilt or innocence it still has not finally decided.” A hearing to determine the timeframe for the appeal of al-Megrahi is to take place at the High Court later this month. Source And he should be shown any compassion why?  |
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| Isis | Nov 16 2008, 06:34 PM Post #2 |
The Goddess of Darkness & Desire
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He didn't care about the people he killed, I think the judge's made the right choice by refusing him bail... |
     Isis, The Goddess of Desire & Darkness. In The Darkness, We Find The Light. This is a Drama Free Zone..! | |
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