Abdelbaset al-Megrahi

Let's assume - because everything can be & is being called into question - that there is no doubt about al-Megrahi's medical condition. Let’s also set aside the doubts that some have expressed about the safety of the conviction, though Jim Swires (who often speaks for the British victims of the PAN-AM bombing) seems to have considerable doubts about that.



The fact remains that al-Megrahi became a talisman for a variety of interests as soon as he was identified as the bomber, even before the case came to court. The current debate is more about that than the man in question. As an icon, a talisman, al-Megrahi represents variously, the oppression of the eastern & Islamic world by USA/Europe, the inhuman face of terrorism, the over-vaunting power of economic interests (especially those to do with energy resources), an exemplar of a dictatorial regime brought to heel by international pressure, the moral & political haze that clouds Iraq, Afghanistan & many other countries . So it is almost impossible to look cleanly at man or the actions for which he was given a life sentence.

However, let's try to do so. A l-Megrahi was found guilty of a heinous crime involving the indiscriminate murder of nearly 300 people. The trial was conducted under Scottish law because of the location of the explosion, & al-Megrahi remained in prison in spite of two appeals. Held in Scotland for eight years, there have been a number of attempts to use the judicial system to gain his release. He now has terminal prostate cancer & has been released home to Libya on compassionate grounds. If that was all there was to it, it would be a case of Scottish law moving according to established precedent. Although many of al-Magahi’s victims might want to see him die in goal, law stands above personal considerations or the understandable desire for vengeance; Scotland, at least allows this mercy.


That is the clear-cut version, but the trouble comes from the man as myth, the man as focus for a maelstrom of political & economic interests from which no-one involved can escape. In the most recent events, SNP government & its Justice Minister, UK government, the UK PM & Trade minister (in particular), Gaddafi's & his regime, trade & oil interests, the US & the Obama presidency are all caught up. That is not unusual in the unusual world of international disputes of this kind. However, to say that al-Megrahi was “only” (or mainly) released as a result of pressure from the Gaddafi regime & its use of large-scale economic bribes ignores the fact of his medical death-sentence. This case is unique, of course, but there is evidence that other murderers with terminal illnesses have been similarly released. In that sense, al-Megrahi is not unique. In every other sense, this case is utterly unlike any other. Al-Megrahi as an icon for international politics, is an absolute type. The man as icon died the moment he was identified as a prime suspect & all the subsequent events are an evolving mythic narrative feeding from the human beings caught up in it.