Libyan Rebels Ignore Request to Extradite Lockerbie Bomber

By all means, let's send them billions of dollars and pretend they're going to have a democratic form of government.

The Libyan rebel government will not deport the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, its justice minister said Sunday.

New York senators on Aug. 22 asked the Libyan transitional government to hold Abdel-Baset al-Megrahi fully accountable for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people.

But the transitional government Justice Minister Mohammed al-Alagi told journalists in Tripoli that the request by American senators had "no meaning" because al-Megrahi had already been tried and convicted.

"We will not hand over any Libyan citizen. It was Gadhafi who handed over Libyan citizens," he said, referring to the government's decision to turn al-Megrahi over to a Scottish court for trial.

A shame al-Megrahi didn't die two years ago like he was supposed to.

Lockerbie Bomber Miraculously Still Alive: 'Sending Him Home Was a Disastrous Policy'

So how's that decision to release the Lockerbie bomber on "compassionate" grounds nearly two years ago working out? Let's put it this way: He's a couple years past his supposed expiration date and still ticking.

The Lockerbie bomber has been paraded on Libyan TV almost two years after his release from a UK prison because he was dying of cancer.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, 59, has been feted as a hero in his home country since he was released from jail in 2009 ‘on compassionate grounds’.

The Libyan national was convicted of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, killing all 259 passengers and crew on board the New York-bound Boeing 747, and 11 people in Lockerbie.

The Scottish government released Megrahi after judging that he had only three months to live. His longevity has been a source of embarrassment to the Holyrood administration ever since.

At a televised rally of members of Megrahi’s tribe last night, a Libyan TV presenter claimed that ‘half of the world conspired against’ the bomber. In the broadcast, which will cause further anguish to victims’ families, the convicted terrorist was seen in a wheelchair.

American Susan Cohen, whose 20-year-old daughter Theodora was killed in the atrocity, last night said: ‘This is no surprise, it was inevitable. It was obvious at the time that the man wasn’t anywhere near death.

‘But still, hearing about this, I feel anger and outrage. Sending him home was a disastrous policy.’

Megrahi was handed a minimum term of 27 years in jail for the attack, but served less than seven and a half years.

In 2009, Gordon Brown insisted the British Government had ‘no role’ in his release, which he claimed was a Holyrood decision. But the then-prime minister came under pressure almost immediately from shocking claims that the release was linked explicitly to trade deals benefiting Britain.

Colonel Gaddafi’s son Saif said Megrahi’s case was discussed at every meeting between the previous prime minister Tony Blair and the Libyan leader.

Hope that shady oil deal worked out.

Hurry Up, Please: Lockerbie Bomber 'On The Verge Of Death'

Who said there wasn't any positive news this morning?

A source close to the family of the Lockerbie bomber Adelbaset al Megrahi has told Sky News his health has deteriorated and every day is "expected to be his last".

Of course when he was released 16 months ago he allegedly had little time to, so take it with a boulder of salt.

Libyan Al Megrahi - who was convicted of killing 270 people by bombing a Pan Am jet in 1988 - has been unable to walk for a number of weeks and is not expected to recover.

A source close to his family told Sky News: "He is on life support and has been for some days. Many people have been waiting for him to die.

"That day is coming very soon. Every day, his loved ones expect it to be his last."

Al Megrahi has survived far beyond the three months expected after his release on compassionate grounds from Greenock Prison by the Scottish government in August 2009.

Meanwhile, to no surprise the UK has lost a lot of credibility in allowing itself to be bullied into releasing this monster.

Great News: Lockerbie Killer Getting 'Very Best Care That Money Can Buy'

He's the creature that wouldn't die.

The Lockerbie bomber has secretly resumed hospital chemotherapy sessions in an attempt to beat his cancer, the Daily Mail can reveal.

A year after Abdelbaset Al Megrahi was sent home to Libya to die with just three months to live, he is now making regular trips to a top medical centre for the 'very best care that money can buy'.

Earlier this year his family claimed all conventional treatment had stopped and that he was solely relying on alternative medicine and positive thinking to ease his pain.

But the Mail has learned he is once again receiving help from cancer specialists, which his family hope will provide a 'miracle cure' and extend his life still further - possibly by more than 18 months.

According to sources in Tripoli the new treatment is 'going well' although the Libyan is apparently suffering from 'black moods' over the negative way Britain and the West is portraying his case.

Poor thing. If he'd have just died when he was supposed to he wouldn't have to worry about being depressed.

As the first anniversary approaches on Friday of the convicted terrorist's triumphant return, the revelations of the resumption of his treatment were met with fierce criticism by the families of Lockerbie victims.

Susan Cohen, 72, of New Jersey, who lost her daughter Theodora, 20, in the 1988 bombing, said: 'There really is no end to this horrible thing. Who knows how long he has got.

'All I know is that he's doing better than I am because it is my daughter's birthday on September 10th and before it and after it I'm going to be miserable.'

'Terminal' Lockerbie Bomber Still Alive a Year After Being Freed

I'd be surprised if they're not having a blowout party in Tripoli tonight, laughing their asses off at the gullibility and stupidity of the dolts who let this monster walks.

Happy anniversary, idiots.

Angry relatives of Lockerbie victims called yesterday for the medical records of freed bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi to be made public.

They say it is vital that the evidence which led to his release from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds can be scrutinised.

Exactly a year ago, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was told the Libyan had just three months to live because of cancer. Megrahi was returned to his homeland 11 days later.

But families of the 270 people who died when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up, have been left furious by claims from independent experts that, following chemotherapy, the bomber could live well into next year or possibly longer.

Eileen Walsh, who lost her father, brother and pregnant sister in the 1988 terror attack, said: 'The man may have cancer, but the condition and the extent of it were greatly exaggerated. Release his medical records and prove me wrong.'

The demands were last night backed by James Kelly, Scottish Labour's community safety spokesman, who said it was time the medical background to the release of the 58-year-old was published.

Former Libyan intelligence agent Megrahi was freed under Scots law that allows 'compassionate release' if medical reports show a prisoner has three months or less to live.

Mr MacAskill has always claimed the three-month prognosis, made by prison service medical director Dr Andrew Fraser, drew on advice from NHS cancer specialists.

But reports released by the Scottish Executive show no specialist 'would be willing to say' if they agreed with this verdict. It has steadfastly refused to release the full reports used by Dr Fraser.

Frank Duggan, of the Victims of Pan Am 103 group, said: 'Kenny MacAskill was warned he would need concrete and independent medical evidence to justify his decision and the papers show that simply wasn't there.

'The specialists could not agree on the three-month prognosis, but the Justice Secretary carried on regardless.

'Mr MacAskill was also warned Megrahi would receive a hero's welcome when he touched down in Tripoli and that is exactly what happened.

Washington Urged for Release of Lockerbie Monster

This current regime in Washington really enjoys having it both ways. In one breath they claim to be outrageously outraged that the Lockerbie bomber was released yet at the same time was OK with releasing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on "compassionate" grounds.

How about a little compassion for the victims' families?

Barack Obama's administration urged Edinburgh to base the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds, it has emerged.

Newspapers had quoted a letter from Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US Embassy in London, to Scottish first minister Alex Salmond.

It read: "If Scottish authorities come to the conclusion that Megrahi must be released from custody, the US position is that conditional release on compassionate grounds would be a far preferable alternative to prisoner transfer."

Mr Salmond told Sky News this morning that the American government's position was that they did not want Megrahi to be released - but preferred a compassionate release over a prisoner transfer deal.

"Presumably the reason that they were so opposed to the prisoner transfer agreement is on roughly the same grounds as the Scottish government had for opposing that agreement - because it was signed initially at the same time as an oil deal was being signed in the famous deal in the desert," he said.

Elsewhere, former prime minister Tony Blair was forced to deny he had paved the way for Megrahi's release during a meeting with Libya's leader Colonel Gadaffi.

"There was no deal in the desert," Mr Blair's spokesman told the Sunday Mirror newspaper. "His release was entirely a decision for the Scottish executive."

This comes after the fiction being peddled earlier this week that Obama was going to "grill" David Cameron, who had nothing to do with the deal, over the release.

COnsidering Obama's anemic approval ratings, how well will this go over with the American public? Oh, never mind, the media here will simply ignore the story.

Meanwhile, certain senators now preening for the cameras and bashing BP are having it thrown back at them.

US POLITICIANS demanding to know if BP lobbied for the release of the Lockerbie bomber were yesterday accused of taking a fortune in donations from the oil giant.

President Barack Obama is said to have received $71,051- around £46,000 - and his secretary of state Hillary Clinton $6700 from the firm that both have savaged since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Clinton has led the calls for the SNP government to explain their decision to send cancer-stricken Abdelbaset al-Megrahi home to Libya last August.

Other US politicians said to have received BP donations include two senators leading a special hearing trying to establish if BP lobbied for Megrahi's release to help the firm win lucrative drilling rights in Libya.

BP insisted the money was donated by individual staff members.

Last night, the US politicians faced SNP accusations of hypocrisy.

SNP Msp Michael Matheson said: "It's astonishing that after all the rhetoric ... that those senators attacking BP have benefited from their donations.

"It exposes some of the sheer political opportunism currently being played out over the tragic events at Lockerbie and in the Gulf."

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill insisted he freed Megrahi on compassionate grounds and that BP had no contact with Holyrood.

He again refused to attend the senate hearing on Thursday provoking US fury. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey senator who is chairing the hearing, received $2000 in 2008 for his senate campaign.

Last week, he said: "If BP are found to have gained access to Libyan oil reserves by using a mass murderer as a bargaining chip then ... any money they make off of that oil is blood money."

New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand called for "greater transparency".

But documents show that she received a $750 donation this year.

Thanks to Hot Air for the link. Commenter Wyatt notes the delusional slob at LGF calls me a "wingnut liar" for daring to mention this. He gets very upset when anyone mentions something that embarrasses the current occupant of the White House.

Maybe he should just spare himself the misery and ride his bike off the Santa Monica Pier.

Terrorist Given Three Months to Live Now Will Probably Last Ten Years

Seems everyone knew the gig was up after those first three months came and went about eight months ago. Now it appears this creature will never die.

The doctor who predicted the Lockerbie bomber would die within three months of his release from prison faced calls to apologise to victims' families last night.

There was outrage after it emerged Professor Karol Sikora had admitted Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi could live for another ten years or more despite diagnosing him with terminal cancer.

Campaigners reacted with fury to his comments which they said raised new questions about the decision to send him back to Libya.

Tory MP Ben Wallace, a former member of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said: 'The doctor that carried out this diagnosis owes his regret to the families of the victims.

'He should apologise to the victims for contributing to the release of a mass murderer, who is clearly alive and well in Libya.

'Throughout this whole sorry affair the victim has been put last behind trade deals, Scotish Nationalist posturing and dubious medical diagnosis.'

Megrahi's release from his Scottish prison cell last August - on the orders of Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill - was mired in controversy.

Some relatives of victims of the 1988 bombing claimed Megrahi was never as sick as he claimed to be, and criticised the release on so-called 'compassionate grounds' as an unforgiveable mistake.

The Scottish Government claimed there was a 'firm consensus' among medical experts that he would die within twelve weeks.

But there was widespread speculation the move was in fact part of an Anglo-Libyan trade deal - and unrelated to his terminal prostate cancer - after it emerged UK government ministers had pushed for his release.

I guess this might not be a good time to remind folks of this, is it?

Tony Blair has been accused of agreeing a 'blood money' deal involving the Lockerbie bomber with Colonel Gaddafi just hours before BP unveiled a £500million oil contract.

The then Prime Minister laid the foundations for the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi during a meeting with the Libyan leader in a desert tent two years ago.

The pair thrashed out a controversial prisoner transfer deal just before BP chairman Peter Sutherland announced the firm was investing $900million - about £545million - to search for oil in Libya. If the firm strikes rich, it could be worth £13billion.

The Scottish Government confirmed that its justice secretary Kenny MacAskill would announce Megrahi's fate at 1pm today.

It is widely expected that the terminally-ill 57-year-old, the only person convicted of the December 1988 bombing, will be freed on compassionate grounds.

Let's hope BP struck it rich there. They'll need the money.

Man Who Should Have Been Dead Months Ago Celebrates His Birthday

By my estimation this piece of garbage should have been dead back in November. Those idiots in Scotland really look pretty stupid now, don't they?

The Lockerbie bomber celebrated his 58th birthday on Thursday at a Libyan mansion, defying the imminent death Scottish officials predicted when they compassionately freed him from prison nearly eight months ago.

The thought of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi partying with family and friends - reportedly thanking God for his survival - left his victims' loved ones sick to their stomachs.

"It's absolutely despicable. It's horrific because my daughter had only 20 birthdays," said Susan Cohen of Cape May, N.J.

Cohen's daughter, Theodora, a student at Syracuse University, was among 270 killed Dec. 21, 1988, when Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland.

"I actually had my birthday on the 27th [of March], and this is a pretty awful late birthday present," said Cohen, 72.

Megrahi, the only terrorist convicted of the bombing, was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 for assisting in the mass-murder bombing.

Diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer while doing time, Megrahi was released in August by Scottish authorities, who were assured by doctors that he had less than three months to live.

An ex-Libyan intelligence officer, Megrahi was given a hero's welcome home, where he's been embraced by Libyan President Moammar Khadafy and has apparently been on the mend.

"Since returning to the love of family and friends, he has made a remarkable recovery," a diplomatic source told the (London) Daily Mail.

They're starting to become a little concerned about damaged reputations in Scotland now. Gee, I wonder why?

Lockerbie Monster May Live Another Five Years

The decision to release this killer looks dumber by the day. It would be one thing if he lasted a couple months longer than they said he would, but five more years?

He just won't die.

The Lockerbie bomber -- who was released from a Scottish prison last year because cancer had supposedly left him at death's door -- could be kept alive for up to five more years.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was said to have just months to live when Scottish authorities made the controversial decision to free him and allow him to return to Libya.

But the terrorist, given a life sentence for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people, has since been taking the chemotherapy drug Taxotere, the British paper The Sun reports today.

Other reports said that al-Megrahi had not been given the drug while he was in prison -- and might not have been allowed a "compassionate" discharge if it had been prescribed.

Scottish opposition spokesman Bill Aitken demanded full disclosure from Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.

"Was the existence of a drug which is reportedly now extending the life of the Lockerbie bomber included in any of the reports Kenny MacAskill read before making the decision to release him?" he asked.

Meanwhile, he's so popular in Libya people are naming babies after him.

Al-Megrahi was freed in August from his Scottish prison after cancer doctors said he had only three months to live. Scenes of him being welcomed as a returning hero provoked outrage across Britain and the US, amid widespread suspicion that the release was tied to UK trade deals with oil-rich Libya. Now, to the embarrassment of the ministers who freed him, he is healthy enough to be working on the autobiography which he hopes will clear his name.

But it is the revelation that mothers and fathers in Libya are now naming their children after Al-Megrahi which will most anger opponents of his release. The bomber's father Ali Al-Megrahi said: "His name is revered by numerous families, with newborn babies being named after him everywhere."

It has also been confirmed the Libyan government has made large payments to Al-Megrahi to allow him to live in an exclusive area of the capital Tripoli. A senior Libyan diplomatic source said: "It is safe to say that the family wants for nothing." But in remarks which will boost suspicions that he was freed to re-start UK-Libya trade, Al-Megrahi's brother Mohammed Ali said: "My brother sacrificed 10 years of his life to assist in the lifting of the economic blockade against Libya."

He said around 30,000 people had visited Al-Megrahi since his return, among them members of the ruling Gaddafi family. But many Lockerbie relatives remain convinced Al-Megrahi is guilty. Susan Cohen, whose daughter Theo died in the blast, said: "The thought that there are now lots of little babies who are going to grow up admiring a man responsible for a terrorist atrocity is terrible."

Lockerbie Bomber Still Alive After Six Months

If we're to believe the Scots and Libyans, this guy should have been dead four months ago.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, no longer receives hospital treatment after ending the course of chemotherapy that he had been given after returning to his homeland last August.

Professor Karol Sikora, the London-based doctor who examined Megrahi and predicted he would be dead by last October, admitted this weekend that the fact the bomber is still alive might be "difficult" for the families of the 270 victims of the attack.

The latest disclosure will incense many of the relatives of those who died in the bomb blast in December 1988 when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded in mid air over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 people on the ground.

Most did not want Megrahi released and they suspected he would live longer than the predicted three months.

The Sunday Telegraph revealed last September that the Libyan government had paid for the medical evidence which helped Megrahi, 57, to be released. The Libyans had encouraged doctors to say he had only three months to live.

The life expectancy of Megrahi was crucial because, under Scottish rules, prisoners can be freed on compassionate grounds only if they are considered to have this amount of time, or less, to live.

Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, ruled last August that Megrahi should be freed. Megrahi's release came after Libyan leaders warned that lucrative oil and trade deals with Britain would be cancelled if the bomber died in jail.

So they released a mass murderer in return for oil, and the guy is still living.

Sweet deal, huh?

Megrahi, is now living in a spacious two-storey villa with his wife and their five grown-up children in a prosperous suburb of Tripoli, the Libyan capital.

The property has a spacious garden and an area where the family erects a large tent to entertain visitors for celebrations.

The property has a security gate and there is often a uniformed police officer sitting on a white chair outside.

The Megrahis, who are part of a prominent tribe, are well off and it is understood that his family was paid substantial compensation by the Libyan Government after he was jailed for life.

Sikora still claims Megrahi has little time to live. For his own sake, he better be right.

Professor Sikora had a message to the relatives of the Lockerbie tragedy who are angered by Megrahi's release: "The quality of his life is not good – he is a dying man.

"Quite frankly, as an act of mercy, it is better that he dies at home rather than in prison."

However, one source involved in monitoring Megrahi's health suggested the bomber's condition has got no worse in the past six months.

The source said: "Megrahi is still the same as ever. His condition has not deteriorated. There is no sign of him dying any time yet but who knows? It's totally unpredictable."

Judicial Watch Sues FBI Over Megrahi Files

Seems like this is newsworthy here in the states, but nobody in the media seems the least bit interested.

The FBI is being taken to court in the US over its refusal to release documents relating to the release of the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

Judicial Watch, a conservative pressure group that campaigns for transparency, fights government corruption and was opposed to the early release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi last August, has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit in the US to obtain important papers relating to the decision to allow him to return to Libya.

The watchdog said it wanted to shed light on what role, if any, the US had in his release.

It made the request in September 10, 2009 and says that, by law, the FBI was required to respond by October 8. However, the group said that the FBI, while acknowledging receipt of the request, provide neither documents nor any explanation as to why they had been withheld.

Legal documents lodged with the US District Court for the District of Columbia claim the FBI “violated the FOIA by failing to produce any and all non-exempt records”.

The news comes after The Herald revealed that vital documents in Britain relating to the Lockerbie conviction may never see the light of day.

Curiously the reason given in the UK was this maggot had less than three months to live.

That was nearly six months ago. Probably the only ones surprised by this are the pinheads who released him.

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said: “Not only was the decision to release Megrahi from prison an affront to justice and an insult to the families of the victims of the Pan Am tragedy, but it also served to rally terrorists around the world.

“And given the fact that most of the people on board that flight were Americans, we deserve to know what the US Government knew about this horrible decision to release a known terrorist from prison.

“The FBI has an obligation to the American people and the victims’ families to release all relevant documents as soon as possible.

“Frankly, given its lackadaisical and ideological approach to the terrorist threat, I’m concerned the Obama administration did not do enough to prevent this terrorist’s release.”

'Pardon Me, But He's Supposed to Have Prostate Cancer. Why Is He Wearing an Oxygen Mask?'

Who are you going to believe? Your own eyes or the Libyans?

The Libyan government invited a British camera crew to film the Lockerbie bomber in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and an oxygen mask.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who has prostate cancer, is "a dying man" who can no longer speak, Libyan Foreign Secretary Mohammed Siala said Monday.

Asked if his release was the result of a shady oil-for-terrorist deal, Megrahi's head lolled on the pillow. He did not seem to register the question.

The invite to film came after Megrahi's father ignited a new firestorm when he said his son wasn't really dying.

"It is not that serious as some news media have been portraying," Ali al-Megrahi told an Arab paper last week. "He is improving day by day."

The only man convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 that killed 270 people was released from a Scottish prison Aug. 20 after doctors said he had three months to live.

Relatives of those lost on the plane were skeptical of the new hospital footage.

"Pardon me, but he's supposed to have prostate cancer. Why is he wearing an oxygen mask?" asked Susan Cohen, whose daughter Theodora was killed in the attack.

"With the mask, does he really need his glasses, too?" wondered Bob Monetti, who lost his son Rick.

Cohen noted that Megrahi was well enough just 12 days ago to climb onto a Libya-bound plane without help, and to pump his fist when he was greeted by cheering crowds in Tripoli, Libya's capital - a scene that appalled the world.

More on Britain's despicable terrorists-for-oil deal.