.US tells Libya rebels: Capture the Lockerbie bomber for us
A dramatic mission to capture the freed Lockerbie bomber from Libya and return him to face justice in the United States was revealed last night.
Under a secret deal between Barack Obama and Libyan rebel leaders, Abdelbaset Al Megrahi would be detained by opposition troops and then handed over to US Special Forces.
Senior Congressional sources in Washington have disclosed to The Mail on Sunday that President Obama has told the Libyan rebels through intermediaries that a condition of continued support from the US is that they must hand over Megrahi if they enter Tripoli
The mission would involve Megrahi being flown to a neutral Arab country by US Special Forces once he is handed over by the rebels, and then on to America to face trial. British SAS soldiers are unlikely to be directly involved in the operation.
Megrahi, 59, a former Libyan intelligence officer, was convicted in 2001 of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people in 1988.
He was freed from a life sentence on compassionate grounds by the Scottish Government in August 2009 and flown to Libya after doctors said he had terminal prostate cancer and had only three months to live.
At a White House meeting with David Cameron last summer, President Obama described the release of Megrahi as ‘heartbreaking’, adding: ‘I think all of us here were surprised, disappointed and angry about the release of the Lockerbie bomber.’
Now US intelligence chiefs have established that Megrahi is living with his wife Aisha, his four sons and, possibly, his married daughter at a house in the New Damascus district of Tripoli.
If Megrahi is captured, the hope is he may implicate Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi in the Lockerbie bomb plot.
The plan to capture the bomber came after US Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder last week to demand the US ‘continue working to return Abdelbaset Al Megrahi to prison’.
Mr Menendez has amended a Congressional Bill authorising the continued use of force in Libya to include a paragraph ordering ‘the continuation of Federal investigations into the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103’.
Congressional sources disclosed that the US will ‘grab’ Megrahi as soon as they can.
A statement issued by Mr Lautenberg and Mr Menendez said: ‘The upheaval within the Libyan government presents new opportunities to gather information and demand accountability for this heinous crime.
‘The US case to prosecute remains open and our government must do everything to help bring all of those responsible, including Gaddafi, to justice.’
Congressional sources said this was a thinly veiled code for saying that they want to capture Megrahi. The sources, who asked not to be named, said one fear was that Gaddafi will move Megrahi into his compound if Tripoli is falling and kill him before he can be taken prisoner.
The bid to capture the bomber comes after Gaddafi threatened to carry out attacks in Europe against ‘homes, offices and families’ unless Nato halted its air strikes against his regime.
When the US State Department was asked to comment on the Megrahi plot, an official said he would ‘take the question’. This is a regular tactic used by the State Department enabling it to neither confirm nor deny what is put to officials.
US government sources say if Megrahi were found guilty after a trial, he would get life without parole.
Although there would be calls for him to be executed, international pressure is likely to prevent the death sentence being carried out.
Daily Mail
Under a secret deal between Barack Obama and Libyan rebel leaders, Abdelbaset Al Megrahi would be detained by opposition troops and then handed over to US Special Forces.
Senior Congressional sources in Washington have disclosed to The Mail on Sunday that President Obama has told the Libyan rebels through intermediaries that a condition of continued support from the US is that they must hand over Megrahi if they enter Tripoli
The mission would involve Megrahi being flown to a neutral Arab country by US Special Forces once he is handed over by the rebels, and then on to America to face trial. British SAS soldiers are unlikely to be directly involved in the operation.
Megrahi, 59, a former Libyan intelligence officer, was convicted in 2001 of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people in 1988.
He was freed from a life sentence on compassionate grounds by the Scottish Government in August 2009 and flown to Libya after doctors said he had terminal prostate cancer and had only three months to live.
At a White House meeting with David Cameron last summer, President Obama described the release of Megrahi as ‘heartbreaking’, adding: ‘I think all of us here were surprised, disappointed and angry about the release of the Lockerbie bomber.’
Now US intelligence chiefs have established that Megrahi is living with his wife Aisha, his four sons and, possibly, his married daughter at a house in the New Damascus district of Tripoli.
If Megrahi is captured, the hope is he may implicate Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi in the Lockerbie bomb plot.
The plan to capture the bomber came after US Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder last week to demand the US ‘continue working to return Abdelbaset Al Megrahi to prison’.
Mr Menendez has amended a Congressional Bill authorising the continued use of force in Libya to include a paragraph ordering ‘the continuation of Federal investigations into the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103’.
Congressional sources disclosed that the US will ‘grab’ Megrahi as soon as they can.
A statement issued by Mr Lautenberg and Mr Menendez said: ‘The upheaval within the Libyan government presents new opportunities to gather information and demand accountability for this heinous crime.
‘The US case to prosecute remains open and our government must do everything to help bring all of those responsible, including Gaddafi, to justice.’
Congressional sources said this was a thinly veiled code for saying that they want to capture Megrahi. The sources, who asked not to be named, said one fear was that Gaddafi will move Megrahi into his compound if Tripoli is falling and kill him before he can be taken prisoner.
The bid to capture the bomber comes after Gaddafi threatened to carry out attacks in Europe against ‘homes, offices and families’ unless Nato halted its air strikes against his regime.
When the US State Department was asked to comment on the Megrahi plot, an official said he would ‘take the question’. This is a regular tactic used by the State Department enabling it to neither confirm nor deny what is put to officials.
US government sources say if Megrahi were found guilty after a trial, he would get life without parole.
Although there would be calls for him to be executed, international pressure is likely to prevent the death sentence being carried out.
Daily Mail
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