|
Qaddafi Says New Evidence To Be Released
CAIRO, Feb 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi will reveal Monday what he called "new evidence" that would lead to the acquittal of a Libyan convicted of bombing a PanAm airliner in 1998.
The official al-Fateh daily said "today, the leader will present evidence to refute the Lockerbie verdict."
The newspaper al-Shams (The Sun) said: "What will the leader say today? For the third day running the question is repeated among journalists, the people, students and politicians."
The maverick leader, known for his outspoken statements and unpredictability, has said, after a panel of three Scottish judges found AbdelBassit al-Megrahy guilty of bombing the airliner and sentenced him to life imprisonment, that he would unveil new evidence providing proof that Megrahy is innocent.
Observers said that Qaddafi was likely to give statements either demonstrating U.S. pressure on the judges or that another party, most probably anti-American Palestinian groups, were behind the bombing which killed 270 people over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The al-Zahf al-Akhdar (the Green March) newspaper speculated on whether the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and their agents, were also "implicated in the British campaign against Tripoli?"
The guilty verdict on Megrahy, a married man with children, was delivered after an unprecedented 84-day trial under Scottish law in the Netherlands. The judges found another Libyan, Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah, not guilty.
The ruling drew sharp criticism from Libya and several law experts. A Scottish legal expert said the verdict was obtained on "very, very weak" evidence.
Robert Black, the Scottish law professor who devised the format of the Netherlands-based trial, was quoted Sunday as saying he was "absolutely astounded" that al-Megrahy had been found guilty.
A Libyan official said the opinion showed that the case was a "racist pretext" to prolong nine years of sanctions against the country.
The U.S. and Great Britain, two countries that strongly back sanctions against Tripoli, said they wanted Tripoli to take responsibility for the attack and pay compensation in the range of $750 million.
Families of the victims, particularly in the U.S., have said that they wanted Qaddafi himself tried for his alleged role in the bombing.
Some British families of the victims also said they were not completely satisfied with the ruling and demanded a public inquiry into the case to find "the truth" about the bombing.
Libyans protested the ruling and several demonstrations broke out in Tripoli's streets demanding the release of Megrahy. Libyans say the U.S. ought to pay compensation to Libya after Washington bombed Tripoli and other Libyan cities in 1986.
Sanctions against Libya were suspended when Libya handed over the two suspects for trial in the Netherlands, but face the re-imposition of the sanctions regime again even though the trial has ended.
|
