British diplomats have advised their Libyan counterparts on how to obtain the early release of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, sentenced in 2001 to life imprisonment for his involvement in the Lockerbie bombing (Scotland) against Boeing Company Panama that had killed 270 people in 1988. This information is contained in a U.S.
diplomatic telegram revealed by Wikileaks and published on Tuesday 1 February, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. In January 2001, former senior official of the Libyan secret service was the only one convicted in the trial of those responsible for the Lockerbie bombing. In August 2009, this 57 year old man was released after a doctor had certified that he only had more than "three months" to live due to cancer of the prostate.
More than a year after his triumphant return to Libya, the former prisoner deemed moribund is still alive. Now, says The Daily Telegraph in October 2008, in the week that followed the publication of the diagnosis that Mr. Al-Megrahi was suffering from cancer, the British Foreign Minister Bill Rammell had written to his Libyan counterpart to explain how the Scottish law on compassionate grounds for release could be applied to him.
While, according to the official version, the release of Libyan terrorist had jurisdiction of the Scottish Executive, the telegram revealed by Wikileaks confirms the involvement of the Labour government in London that challenged decision. The release of Mr. Al-Megrahi was one of the elements that allowed the restoration of diplomatic relations between the West and Gaddafi's Libya in 2006.
In July 2010, Ambassador of Great Britain in Washington had estimated that the release of Libyan "was a mistake." The British decision had caused such a scandal in the United States - 189 Americans were killed in the attack - which the Senate had launched an inquiry. The report "Justice flouted" U.S.
senators, released in December 2010, emphasizes the role played by the oil company BP. "The evidence shows that the British government was concerned about the (...) future of an oil contract to $ 900 million between BP and Tripoli," the senators write, specifying that the contract was "the most important the group's history.
" They explain how the name of Mr. Megrahi had been withdrawn from the Agreement on the Transfer of Prisoners (PTA) establishing conditions of release or transfer of foreign prisoners in the United Kingdom, until "pressure from Libya and BP leads the British government to include in the agreement.
" "In May 2007, at a time when BP signed its contract with Libya, say U.S. senators, the British authorities with Tripoli signed a protocol agreement on the PTA within twelve months." Philippe Bernard 
diplomatic telegram revealed by Wikileaks and published on Tuesday 1 February, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. In January 2001, former senior official of the Libyan secret service was the only one convicted in the trial of those responsible for the Lockerbie bombing. In August 2009, this 57 year old man was released after a doctor had certified that he only had more than "three months" to live due to cancer of the prostate.
More than a year after his triumphant return to Libya, the former prisoner deemed moribund is still alive. Now, says The Daily Telegraph in October 2008, in the week that followed the publication of the diagnosis that Mr. Al-Megrahi was suffering from cancer, the British Foreign Minister Bill Rammell had written to his Libyan counterpart to explain how the Scottish law on compassionate grounds for release could be applied to him.
While, according to the official version, the release of Libyan terrorist had jurisdiction of the Scottish Executive, the telegram revealed by Wikileaks confirms the involvement of the Labour government in London that challenged decision. The release of Mr. Al-Megrahi was one of the elements that allowed the restoration of diplomatic relations between the West and Gaddafi's Libya in 2006.
In July 2010, Ambassador of Great Britain in Washington had estimated that the release of Libyan "was a mistake." The British decision had caused such a scandal in the United States - 189 Americans were killed in the attack - which the Senate had launched an inquiry. The report "Justice flouted" U.S.
senators, released in December 2010, emphasizes the role played by the oil company BP. "The evidence shows that the British government was concerned about the (...) future of an oil contract to $ 900 million between BP and Tripoli," the senators write, specifying that the contract was "the most important the group's history.
" They explain how the name of Mr. Megrahi had been withdrawn from the Agreement on the Transfer of Prisoners (PTA) establishing conditions of release or transfer of foreign prisoners in the United Kingdom, until "pressure from Libya and BP leads the British government to include in the agreement.
" "In May 2007, at a time when BP signed its contract with Libya, say U.S. senators, the British authorities with Tripoli signed a protocol agreement on the PTA within twelve months." Philippe Bernard
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