Lockerbie bomber gets seven more years

By PAUL KELBIE

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was today facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars after he was told that he must serve at least 27 years before being considered for parole.

The 51-year-old Libyan secret agent, who was convicted of murdering 270 people when he blew up Flight Pan-Am 103 over the Scottish Borders town in December 1988, will be at least 78 before there is any chance of him regaining his freedom.

Megrahi was originally ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years for the 1988 outrage after he was convicted in January 2001 following an 84-day trial by a special court sitting at Camp Zeist in Holland.

Since then the bomber has been held in a special unit, dubbed Gaddafi's cafe, in Glasgow's notorious Barlinnie Prison where his "luxury" complex of private rooms and extra privileges have sparked outrage among many critics.

Yesterday, following the introduction of human rights laws which state that prisoners serving life sentences must be given a minimum term before parole can be considered, Megrahi was taken to the High Court in Glasgow in a major security operation for a four-minute hearing.

As relatives of some of those killed in the atrocity sat just yards from Megrahi, who was seated and wearing a grey suit and tie in the dock of Court No.3 flanked by police officers and behind a bullet-proof screen, the former Libyan intelligence agent had his minimum jail term increased by seven years.

As he listened to the proceeding through headphones via an interpreter, Megrahi looked relaxed as Lords Sutherland, Coulfield and MacLean told him that the only mitigating factor in his favour was his age.

"Quite clearly this was a wicked act carried out in the full knowledge that the plan, if successful, would result in the slaughter of many entirely innocent persons," said Lord Sutherland, who indicated that the minimum term might have been 30 years were it not for his age and the fact that he was serving his sentence in a foreign country.

"The overwhelming factor in the present case is the deliberate and planned use of an explosive device to cause multiple deaths and corresponding anguish to the relatives of the victims.

"Quite clearly this was a wicked act carried out in the full knowledge that the plan, if successful, would result in the slaughter of many entirely innocent persons."

Lord Sutherland said: "It would be difficult to consider a worse case of murder."However many of the victims' relatives were still unhappy about the sentence, which was backdated to April 5, 1999, as they argued that it amounted to little more than a month for each person killed.

"To me it seems the punishment does not fit the crime," said Kathleen Flynn, 62, whose 21-year-old son John Patrick was killed in the bombing.

"I'm here today at court, at a punishment part of the trial, and I don't see 27 years as punishment for killing 270 innocent people in a premeditated act of murder."

"Mr Megrahi would never walk the face of the earth as a free man, as far as my justice would be concerned - never," said American Mrs Flynn, who attended the hearing with her husband Jack, aged 65.

"To us 27 years seems so inconsequentially bad," she explained.

David Ben-Aryeah, a spokesman for the British relatives of those killed in the bombing, said that many families still had "continuing serious doubts" about "many aspects" of the Al Megrahi case, which would only be answered by an independent inquiry.

"In any family one experiences differences of philosophy and opinion, sometimes deeply felt and emotionally expressed," he said.

"Therefore it is both normal and understandable that there are many different opinions and feelings about today's hearing, given that 270 victims from 21 nations and seven faiths died at Lockerbie and that their relatives and friends number over 1,000.

"We have all to accept the verdict and the fact that the sentence is life imprisonment, although many of our group have continuing serious doubts about many aspects of the case, which we feel will only be answered by a full and independent inquiry."

Marina de Larracoechea, whose sister Mieves was killed in the terrorist atrocity, said there were still many issues to come out about what happened to Pan-Am Flight 108.

"There are issues critically painful to the victims that have not yet been heard.

"Governments knew what was going to happen as they were pulling people off the plane the week before the flight.

"The international intelligence community had precise information that something like this was going to happen."

After the hearing Al Megrahi's lawyer, Eddie Mackechnie, said his client, who has an appeal against conviction lodged with the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission following defence claims that vital evidence was planted, had anticipated a "difficult" hearing but was looking ahead to his appeal.

"We are not concerned about today's hearing," said Mr MacKechnie. "This was always going to be a difficult day for any convicted person.

"As far as the future is concerned - this is what really matters - all this has done is accentuate the need for us to marshal all our forces to establish the innocence of this man.

"I have no doubt that we will have the opportunity for a fresh appeal in due course.

"I respect the gentleman. He will have his day in court, we hope, and then all of us will know what really happened, perhaps, on the 21st December 1988."

- INDEPENDENT