Relatives of victims of the Lockerbie bombing have described their continued distress that the man convicted of the atrocity remains in Libya two years to the day since he was freed on compassionate grounds.
Those who oppose the decision, made by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on August 20, 2009, insist Abdelbaset al-Megrahi should not have been freed from jail in Scotland.
Mr Megrahi was said to be about three months from death after being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Despite the anger from critics of the decision, others hit out at the “annual Lockerbie bomber blood fest”.
Some relatives of victims, and other campaigners, believe Mr Megrahi is innocent, or that all legal avenues have not yet been followed through.
Pamela Dix, whose brother Peter was killed in the bombing, said: “It’s extremely frustrating that we’re here, still talking about this.
“The fact that it’s now years later means that the decision was probably made on a spurious basis.
“I’m sure Kenny MacAskill made it in good faith, but why are we having this discussion now? It’s just another thing that remains unsolved.” Ms Dix, who lives in Woking, Surrey, said too much confusion surrounds the legal process.
“The court found him guilty, but he refused to speak and dropped his appeal. The release left us in limbo,” she added.
Of the 270 people who died when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up in December 1988, 189 were Americans. US families were among the most vocal critics of the decision, along with President Barack Obama.
Bob Monetti, from New Jersey in the US, who lost his son Rick in the attack, said: “The whole thing was a put-up job to start with. He was released because they (the government) wanted business with the Libyans.
“Hopefully the Gaddafi regime will fall and we’ll find out more.
“It has certainly put the Scottish government in a bad light.”
Robert Forrester, of the Justice for Megrahi campaign, writing in the Scottish Review, said: “Here we go again. As the date of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi’s compassionate release approaches, we enter what has become the annual Lockerbie bomber blood fest.”
The campaign group wants an independent inquiry to look at the conviction again. Two years ago today, Mr MacAskill told the world that Mr Megrahi was going home to die.
Despite sparking international controversy, and a vote symbolically rejecting the decision in the Scottish Parliament, the release appears to have had no effect on the SNP’s fortunes.
But with every anniversary connected to the release of the man convicted of the atrocity, calls are repeated for an apology and for more evidence to back up the decision.
While describing the three-month prognosis as “reasonable”, the report stated that no one “would be willing to say” if Mr Megrahi would live longer.
Factbox
Key dates leading up to and since the controversial decision to allow convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi to return to Libya.
• January 31, 2001: Following a trial at Camp Zeist in The Netherlands, Megrahi is found guilty of mass murder and jailed for life.
• August 19, 2003: Britain introduces a UN resolution to lift sanctions against Libya after Tripoli accepts the blame for the Lockerbie bombing and agrees to compensate the victims’ families.
• March 2004: Prime Minister Tony Blair offers Colonel Muammar Gaddafi “the hand of friendship” following talks with the Libyan leader in a tent outside the capital Tripoli.
• May 2007: Talks between Mr Blair and Col Gaddafi result in a Memorandum of Understanding. Negotiations begin on a Prisoner Transfer Agreement. Signing of an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement between oil giant BP and the Libyan Government.
• June 2007: Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond raises concerns with Mr Blair that the deal could lead to Mr Megrahi being returned to Libya. The UK Government agrees to seek a PTA that excludes Mr Megrahi.
• October-November 2007: Discussions between BP and UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw. BP raises concerns about the effect of the slow progress of the PTA negotiations on commercial interests, including the ratification of the BP exploration agreement.
• December 19, 2007: Mr Straw writes to his Scottish counterpart Kenny MacAskill to inform him the UK Government decided not to exclude Mr Megrahi from the PTA.
• January 2008: BP exploration deal is ratified by the Libyan Government.
• September 2008: Mr Megrahi is diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.
• November 2008: Signing of the PTA.
• April 29, 2009: The PTA comes into force, allowing Mr Megrahi to apply to serve the rest of his sentence in a Libyan jail. He must drop his appeal against his conviction for any PTA to take place.
• May 5, 2009: Libyan Government submits a formal application to the Scottish Government for Mr Megrahi’s transfer under the PTA.
• July 24, 2009: Libyan Government submits an application to the Scottish Government for Mr Megrahi’s release on compassionate grounds.
• August 9, 2009: In a communication to the Scottish government, US authorities say it would be “most appropriate” for Mr Megrahi to remain in prison but a conditional release on compassionate grounds was a “far preferable alternative” to Mr Megrahi’s transfer back to a Libyan jail.
• August 14, 2009: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urges Mr MacAskill not to release Mr Megrahi.
• August 18, 2009: Mr Megrahi’s bid to drop his appeal against his conviction is accepted by judges in Edinburgh.
• August 20, 2009: Having rejected Libya’s application under the PTA, Mr MacAskill announces his decision that Mr Megrahi is to be returned to his home country on compassionate grounds. US President Barack Obama says the decision is a “mistake”.
• August 21, 2009: The UK and the US condemn the “hero’s welcome” given to Mr Megrahi as he arrives in Tripoli to cheering crowds.
• August 22, 2009: Libyan television shows pictures of Col Gaddafi meeting Mr Megrahi and praising Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the UK government for their part in securing his freedom.
• August 25, 2009: Mr Brown says he was “repulsed” by Mr Megrahi’s welcome in Libya and insists the British government had no role in the decision to free him.
• September 2, 2009: The Scottish government suffers a defeat in Parliament over its handling of the Lockerbie case.
• September 5, 2009: Mr Straw acknowledges that the prospect of trade and oil deals with Libya played “a very big part” in his decision to include Mr Megrahi in the PTA.
• September 26, 2009: Colonel Gaddafi said that no deal was done to secure the release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.
• December 21, 2009: The 21st anniversary of the Lockerbie atrocity.
• July 15, 2010: Hillary Clinton says she will look into claims by a group of senators that BP lobbied the government to release Mr Megrahi in order to smoothe an oil deal with Libya. BP says it was not involved in any discussions with either the UK or the Scottish governments about his release.
• July 20, 2010: On his first visit to Washington as Prime Minister, David Cameron tells US media that Mr Megrahi “should have died in jail”. He asks Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell to review the government’s documentation on his release.
• July 22, 2010: The Scottish government declines a request from US senators that Mr MacAskill appear at a hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee on the Lockerbie controversy on July 29. Jack Straw declines the same request the following day.
• July 28, 2010: The committee postpones hearing after the failure of key witnesses to attend.
• July 29, 2010: Senator Robert Menendez says the committee will send members to the UK to question witnesses.
• August 20, 2010: First anniversary of Mr MacAskill’s decision to free Mr Megrahi on compassionate grounds.