Van Nuys, CA -- On reports that Abdel Basset Al-Megrahi, convicted in the Pan Am 103 terrorist attack in Lockerbie, Scotland, may soon be released from custody in the United Kingdom, Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement today.
"I am deeply distressed to learn of the prospect that the Scottish Justice Minister may grant the Libyan prisoner Abdel Basset Al-Megrahi a so-called 'compassionate release' or may send him to Libya under the terms of a Prisoner Transfer Agreement that went into effect earlier this year. Al-Megrahi was convicted of involvement in one of the most monstrous acts of terrorism of this or any era. His release from Scottish prison, under any circumstance, would be a travesty and a display of contempt for the families of 270 dead innocents, including 189 Americans. I call on Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill not to release Al-Megrahi. I call on all British and Scottish authorities to use their influence to try to persuade Minister MacAskill to take the just and moral course of keeping Al-Megrahi behind bars in Scotland for the remainder of his days."
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Permalink: https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/2009/8/release-terrorist-al-megrahi-would-be-travesty-and-would-show-contempt-pan-am.
