US Senators call for extradition of Lockerbie bomber



Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi

Megrahi was freed after he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer



Two
US senators have demanded the extradition of the Lockerbie bomber from
Libya, on the second anniversary of his release from prison in Scotland.

Terminally-ill Abdelbasset al Megrahi was freed by Scottish ministers on compassionate grounds.


New Jersey senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg want
the rebel-led transitional Libyan government to send Megrahi to the US.


Megrahi was jailed in 2001 for the plane bombing in 1988.


He returned home to Tripoli following his release from
Greenock Prison, after medical experts said he may only have three
months to live.


Meanwhile, the Scottish government used the anniversary to
insist it had been "vindicated" over its move after two years of
scrutiny, saying the decision was made on compassionate grounds - not on
economic, political or diplomatic factors.


Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill's decision to
release Megrahi on 20 August 2009 sparked international condemnation
from some relatives of victims and politicians, including US President
Barack Obama - but also attracted high-profile support from figures such
as Nelson Mandela.


Senators Menendez and Lautenberg - who have long-opposed
Megrahi's release and represent the views of the families of some of the
American victims - want Megrahi in a US jail cell.




Senator Menendez, said: "It has
been two years since we were told that al-Megrahi was released because
he supposedly had just three months to live; it has been two years since
he was allowed to return to Libya; and it has been only a few short
weeks since he was seen attending a rally in support of his old friend,
Muammar Qaddafi.

"The first act of the Transitional National Council, as the
legitimate government of Libya, should be to extradite al-Megrahi to the
United States to answer for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 to signal
to the world that a new Libya has every intention to adhere to
international law."


Senator Lautenberg added: "The Lockerbie bomber is a convicted terrorist with American blood on his hands.


"He should never have been released from prison and it is sickening to watch him treated as a hero in Libya."


The bombing of Pam Am flight 103 over the borders town of
Lockerbie, which resulted in the deaths of 270 people, remains the worst
terrorist attack carried out on British soil.


A spokesman for Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, said:
"Two years of extensive scrutiny, under three jurisdictions, vindicates
the position that the justice secretary released al-Megrahi on
compassionate grounds and compassionate grounds alone.


"Regardless of people's views, they can have complete
confidence that it was taken on the basis of Scots law, and without any
consideration of the economic, political and diplomatic factors that the
then UK government based its position on.


"Whether people support or oppose the decision, it was made
following the due process of Scots law, we stand by it, and al-Megrahi
is dying of terminal prostate cancer."


A leading cancer specialist has said it was likely the convicted bomber was being kept alive by pills not available in the UK.


Prof Kirby, of The Prostate Centre in London, said he
believed Megrahi was "almost certainly" being kept alive by a
hormone-based therapy called abiraterone.


Meanwhile, the author helping Megrahi write his memoirs has
told BBC Scotland that the convicted bomber wants the public to "know
the truth" about the case.




Abdelbaset al-Megrahi

Megrahi was recently seen on Libyan television attending a gathering in Tripoli

Speaking ahead of the second anniversary of his release,
British journalist John Ashton, who worked as a researcher alongside
Megrahi's legal team, said the Libyan wanted evidence which would have
been heard during his appeal to finally be made public.


Mr Ashton said: "His dream was always to overturn his conviction and to achieve freedom through that.


"When he made the decision to go home and abandon his appeal
he called me in and said that he wanted me to write a book because he
wanted the public to the know the truth.


"He wanted them to know the evidence that would have been heard during the appeal."


The author also echoed concerns raised by others that Megrahi may be attacked by or handed over to US forces in Libya.


He added: "If we are to believe what we read then yes he is
under threat because the rebels have promised to hand him over to the
Americans, apparently, and the Americans have said they are going to
take him back to America and try him there, which is ridiculous and
illegal."


Relatives of victims of the Lockerbie bombing are still looking for clarity and answers.


Pamela Dix, whose brother Peter was killed in the bombing,
said: "It's extremely frustrating that we're here, still talking about
this.


"The fact that it's now years later means that the decision was probably made on a spurious basis.


"I'm sure Kenny MacAskill made it in good faith, but why are
we having this discussion now? It's just another thing that remains
unsolved."

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