Edinburgh, August 18: Dying Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi dropped his appeal against conviction Tuesday, leaving his fate in the hands of a Scots minister under fierce US pressure not to free him.
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill is mulling several options for Megrahi, jailed for killing 270 people in 1988: moving him to a Libyan jail, freeing him on compassionate grounds or keeping him in a Scottish prison.
One big obstacle preventing his return to Libya was removed Tuesday when Edinburgh’s High Court ruled that he could drop his appeal against conviction.
Lawyers for the former Libyan agent — who has terminal prostate cancer — told Edinburgh’s High Court that he was “very weak,” adding: “He is suffering from severe pain and he is in distress.
“His absolute priority is to die surrounded by his family,” said lawyer Maggie Scott.
But Megrahi can only be sent home under a prisoner transfer agreement when there are no legal matters involving him outstanding — and there is still an appeal by the authorities against the leniency of his sentence to be resolved.
This issue is in principle expected to be decided at another court hearing scheduled for September 8.
“One logjam in the road has been removed through today’s decision,” Robert Black, professor of law at Edinburgh University and an architect of Megrahi’s original trial in the Netherlands, told reporters outside the court.
“Another logjam remains, namely the Crown’s appeal against the sentence that at the moment is an absolute bar to his repatriation under the prisoner transfer agreement.”
Black noted that this appeal was no bar to Megrahi, 57, being granted compassionate release by MacAskill, who has said he will announce a decision by the end of the month.
Media reports suggest Megrahi — the only person convicted over the blowing up of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie — could be freed on compassionate grounds this week.
As Tuesday’s hearing took place, Scottish ministers met separately and discussed whether to grant freedom on compassionate grounds to Megrahi, who was sentenced in 2001 to 27 years in prison.
The cabinet meeting was held behind closed doors in Aberdeen, northeast Scotland.
Afterwards a government spokeswoman said that MacAskill “briefly updated colleagues on the situation simply to confirm that he received the full material from officials on Friday and that he received and listened to representations from those who have relevant interest.
“He will make his decision by the end of the month,” she added.
Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond insisted that “international power politics” would not influence the decision on Megrahi’s fate, which would be taken “on the evidence, in the interest of justice”.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called MacAskill at the weekend to press Washington’s view that the Libyan should stay behind bars in Scotland.
The US pressure was underlined by a letter from seven US senators demanding he complete his sentence.
“We believe he (Megrahi) should remain in Scotland to complete his sentence in prison,” the letter from senators including Edward Kennedy and former presidential hopeful John Kerry said.
Megrahi’s lawyer said in court that she believed dropping the appeal would help speed up the decision about his release.
However, campaigners hoping that his appeal would unearth fresh insights into the bombing, including who instigated the crime, were disappointed.
“Who did it is still in the air — we thought that might have been answered at an appeal,” said John Mosey, whose daughter Helga, 19, died in the bombing.
—Agencies