In the past two days, speculation has risen regarding Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s involvement in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing in Lockerbie, Scotland.

On Monday, the film ‘Lockerbie: Case Closed,’ debuted on Al Jazeera’s website. The film is an assessment of the Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission, a quasi-public body in Scotland that is independent from the government and courts, according to a Feb. 28 Al Jazeera article.

Al-Megrahi was the only man to ever be convicted for involvement in the Pan Am Flight 103 tragedy that killed 270 people, including 35 Syracuse University students. The students were returning from semesters in London and Florence, Italy, through SU’s study abroad program Dec. 21, 1988.

The commission examined the case against al-Megrahi. Its report, which has never been published, raises concern about possible injustice, according to the article. The film especially questions the testimony given by Tony Gauci, a Maltese shop owner and the prosecution’s main witness.

Gauci said al-Megrahi bought clothing and an umbrella from him Dec. 7, 1988. Remnants of the items were later recovered from the debris at the disaster scene, and investigators said they were in the same suitcase as the bomb, according to the article. But the film raises questions about the credibility and identification of Gauci, according to the article.

More rumors surfaced Tuesday claiming Scotland’s justice secretary told al-Megrahi that if he dropped his conviction appeal in 2009, he would be released from jail on compassionate grounds, according to a Feb. 28 Daily Mail Online article.

On Oct. 21, 2008, doctors diagnosed al-Megrahi with prostate cancer, and he was given three months to live.

He applied to be released on bail, pending his conviction appeal Oct. 30, 2008. However, on Nov. 14, 2008, the court ruled that al-Megrahi would remain in jail while he appealed his conviction, according to the article.

It was shortly after this that Scotland’s Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill reportedly told al-Megrahi that he would be released from jail if he dropped his court case, which he did, although he was under no legal obligation to do so, according to the article.

The allegations were detailed in a new book published Tuesday titled ‘Megrahi: You Are My Jury’ by author John Ashton, according to the article.

The author of the book claims al-Megrahi was the ‘innocent victim of dirty politics, a flawed investigation and judicial folly.’ Ashton was a researcher on al-Megrahi’s legal team for three years, according to the article.

Scottish government officials currently deny the allegations, but said in the article that if the reports are true, MacAskill will have knowingly misled Parliament.

‘Kenny MacAskill has repeatedly claimed that the decision for al-Megrahi to drop his appeal was ‘a matter for him and the courts,’ yet these extraordinary reports throw all that into question,’ said Scottish Labour’s justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald in the article.

Judy O’Rourke, director of undergraduate studies at SU, said in an email that these rumors are just a variation of ones that have circulated since al-Megrahi was released from jail. She said she considers them to be ‘recycled news.’

O’Rourke said she believes it was a ‘travesty of justice’ to release al-Megrahi from jail.

‘It is unfortunate that those murdered and their friends and family have been denied true justice,’ she said. ‘These continuing rumors, and Megrahi publishing his version of the bombing while simultaneously blocking the Scottish Justice office from releasing any records or information they might be willing to make public, are hurtful to the families and friends of those lost in the bombing of Pan Am 103 — but unfortunately, it is nothing new.’

snbouvia@syr.edu 

Published on February 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia