
Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Basset al-Megrahi
after stepping
onto the Libyan plane that would whisk him away
to Libya.
Die Welt, Germany
Retrial of Lockerbie Bomber
Would Have
Been Preferable
"Doubts have emerged over the
circumstances of this act of grace, which reeks of a deal. … Is this noble act
of humanity just a footnote to a business transaction?"
By Thorsten Jungholt
Translated By Jonathan Lobsien
August 21, 2009
Germany
- Die Welt - Original Article (German)
Judged by the standards of
Scottish law, the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel
Basset al-Megrahi is hardly objectionable. Apparently terminally ill
with prostate cancer, the Libyan has been shown an act of mercy after eight
years in prison and should spend the last weeks of life at home. That he showed
no mercy in carrying out his crime, the mass murder of 270 passengers on board
a Pan Am aircraft in 1988, is no argument [against showing mercy to him] in a
humane constitutional state: justice was done when he received a life sentence and
in the words of Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, Megrahi must now
answer “to a higher power ... he will soon die [video below].”
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
However, doubts have emerged
over the circumstances of this act of grace, which reeks of a deal. Is it a
coincidence that for weeks, senior British officials have been touring Libya to
secure contracts for the exploitation of the huge gas and oil reserves off the
coast of that north African country? Is this noble act of humanity therefore
just a footnote to a business transaction?
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Le Figaro, France:
Persuasive Leads in Favor of Lockerbie Convict Were Overlooked
Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria:
West's 'Profound Hypocrisy' Over Lockerbie Release
Trouw, The Netherlands:
Lockerbie 'Suspect's'
Release Reflects
Strength of Civilization
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.:
Scotland's 'Brave and
Principled' Release
Irish Examiner, Ireland:
Angry Over
Lockerbie, U.S.
Tourists Snub Scotland for Ireland
This question will likely not
be answered - like so many others connected with the one of the most
spectacular cases of terrorism in the 20th century. Because despite his sentence,
there have always been doubts about whether the evidence presented at Megrahi's
trial really justified conviction. Voices that must be taken seriously have
spoken of a "miscarriage of justice." It would therefore have been
desirable earlier for Scottish justice to have considered a retrial. Now it's
too late.
CLICK
HERE FOR GERMAN VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US August 29, 8:15pm]