This house deplores the release of the Lockerbie bomber to Libya.
Deep international divisions over the premature release of the only man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing were reflected starkly at the start of the sixth series of Doha Debates. Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora, 23, was one of 270 people killed on the Pan Am Flight over Scotland, argued passio...
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| Other Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Video DVD |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Doha, Qatar :
Qatar Foundation,
[2009]
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| Series: | Doha debates ;
series 6. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this debate online |
| Summary: | Deep international divisions over the premature release of the only man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing were reflected starkly at the start of the sixth series of Doha Debates. Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora, 23, was one of 270 people killed on the Pan Am Flight over Scotland, argued passionately against the motion in a plea for forgiveness which drew loud applause. Dr. Swire, who has led a campaign for justice on behalf of the victims' UK relatives, said he was "delighted by (al-Megrahi's) release" since he believed he was innocent and that the people behind the bombing were still at large. He said he was aware that his position might "make the grieving process more difficult" for some of the victims' relatives, but it would have been a mistake to allow al-Megrahi to die in jail a martyr. A number of questions from the audience reflected public concern at international double standards that turned a blind eye to Libya jailing thousands of people without trial and allowed America to do the same with prisoners in Guantanamo. Mustafa Fetouri, a Libyan political commentator and university professor, also opposed the motion, suggesting that al-Megrahi's release was as much for compassionate reasons as for the flaws in the case against him. Guma El-Gamaty, a Libyan writer and frequent critic of the Tripoli regime, said that it had been "wrong to give in to the political and economic blackmail of a totalitarian regime." El-Gamaty, who has lived in Britain for more than 30 years, said while he agreed that al-Megrahi had probably been used by "the system" as a scapegoat, he had puzzlingly wasted an opportunity to prove his innocence by dropping his appeal. Furthermore, his release on compassionate grounds appeared absurd when one considers that "Scotland would have the best medical care for his condition and that his children, who had lived close to the jail for years, could have visited him there." Daniel Kawczynski, a Conservative MP and Chairman of the All Parliamentary Groups for Libya and Saudi Arabia, was adamant that al-Magrahi should not have been released without any form of concession by Tripoli in bringing the April 1984 murderers of the PC Yvonne Fletcher to justice. |
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| Item Description: | Debate held October 12th, 2009. Videorecording. |
| Physical Description: | 1 videodisc (approximately 46 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. Also available onlive. |
| Format: | DVD. |