Plus ça Change....
Today's second procedural hearing in Edinburgh in connection with the appeal of Megrahi has once again echoed the problems which have persistently plagued the investigation and the resulting trial for almost 19 years.
It is clear that the Crown prosecution team, and indeed the British government, are impervious to pleas, appeals, or reason in seeking justice - not just in the possibility an innocent man may have served nearly seven years wrongly incarcerated, but also for the victims and some family members, who after 19 years, are still finding the truth about their loved ones deaths elusive.
With the news yesterday that the British government has also committed to an agreement with Libya with regards to prisoner transfers, specifically with regards to Megrahi, it merely highlighted the lies and hypocrisy at the heart of the current New Labour Government.
Tony Blair had explicitly told, just before he was forced from office (ironically as the result of the lies in taking Britain to war in Iraq, the lies surrounding cash for honors, and the scuppering of an investigation into an arms deal with Saudi Arabia), the Scottish government, and the British public, that the prisoner transfer memo agreement under discussion with the Libyan government, had no bearing whatsoever on Megrahi's case.
7 June 2007 - "The memorandum of understanding agreed with the Libyan Government last week does not cover this (Megrahi) case." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6731739.stm
19 Dec 2007 - "Jack Straw will be signing the prisoner transfer agreement with Libya tonight. Megrahi will not be listed in the treaty as somebody who is specifically excluded," http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Libya-deal-on-eve-of.3607023.jp
The Judges have set the date 20th February in court to discuss further the matter regarding the 'document(s)' which the Crown are refusing to disclose at the behest of the Lord Advocate and the British government.
The same document which, when requested by the SCCRC, was duly disclosed without qualification, and clearly was recognised as having significant bearing on the conviction, but now the Crown prosecution team has proposed a Public Interest Immunity (PII), that restricts Megrahi's defence team from it's use as possible evidence in any appeal process.
If the government have nothing to hide, then why keep their hands behind their back?
------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Herald, Scotland.
Government blocks release of vital Lockerbie appeal document.
Herald article here - http://tiny.cc/SQClP
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Other articles on the hearing :
Prof. Robert Black Q.C. offers an in depth perspective on today's hearing - http://lockerbiecase.blogspot.com/2007/12/second-procedural-hearing.html
Dr. Ludwig De Braeckeleer : http://gaiapost.blogspot.com/2007/12/lockerbie-crown-refuses-to-reveal.html
It is clear that the Crown prosecution team, and indeed the British government, are impervious to pleas, appeals, or reason in seeking justice - not just in the possibility an innocent man may have served nearly seven years wrongly incarcerated, but also for the victims and some family members, who after 19 years, are still finding the truth about their loved ones deaths elusive.
With the news yesterday that the British government has also committed to an agreement with Libya with regards to prisoner transfers, specifically with regards to Megrahi, it merely highlighted the lies and hypocrisy at the heart of the current New Labour Government.
Tony Blair had explicitly told, just before he was forced from office (ironically as the result of the lies in taking Britain to war in Iraq, the lies surrounding cash for honors, and the scuppering of an investigation into an arms deal with Saudi Arabia), the Scottish government, and the British public, that the prisoner transfer memo agreement under discussion with the Libyan government, had no bearing whatsoever on Megrahi's case.
7 June 2007 - "The memorandum of understanding agreed with the Libyan Government last week does not cover this (Megrahi) case." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6731739.stm
19 Dec 2007 - "Jack Straw will be signing the prisoner transfer agreement with Libya tonight. Megrahi will not be listed in the treaty as somebody who is specifically excluded," http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Libya-deal-on-eve-of.3607023.jp
The Judges have set the date 20th February in court to discuss further the matter regarding the 'document(s)' which the Crown are refusing to disclose at the behest of the Lord Advocate and the British government.
The same document which, when requested by the SCCRC, was duly disclosed without qualification, and clearly was recognised as having significant bearing on the conviction, but now the Crown prosecution team has proposed a Public Interest Immunity (PII), that restricts Megrahi's defence team from it's use as possible evidence in any appeal process.
If the government have nothing to hide, then why keep their hands behind their back?
------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Herald, Scotland.
Government blocks release of vital Lockerbie appeal document.
Herald article here - http://tiny.cc/SQClP
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Other articles on the hearing :
Prof. Robert Black Q.C. offers an in depth perspective on today's hearing - http://lockerbiecase.blogspot.com/2007/12/second-procedural-hearing.html
Dr. Ludwig De Braeckeleer : http://gaiapost.blogspot.com/2007/12/lockerbie-crown-refuses-to-reveal.html
Labels: Al Megrahi, Jim Swire, Lockerbie, SCCRC
posted by Eddie at
7:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home