Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi: Profile of a Scapegoat
“To be incarcerated in a far off land, completely alien to my way of life and culture has been not only a shock but also a most profound dislocation for me personally and for my whole family,” he said.
“I had to endure a verdict being issued at the conclusion of that trial which is now characterised by my lawyers, and the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, as unreasonable. To me, and to other right thinking people back at home in Libya, and in the international community, it is nothing short of a disgrace.
“This horrible ordeal is not ended by my return to Libya. It may never end for me until I die. Perhaps the only liberation for me will be death. And I say in the clearest possible terms, which I hope every person in every land will hear: all of this I have had to endure for something that I did not do.
“The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted. The choice which I made is a matter of sorrow, disappointment and anger, which I fear I will never overcome.”
He thanked prison and nursing staff for their kindness and made clear that he harbours no ill feeling towards Scotland. He said he shares the frustration of those who wished to see the appeal continue and, for those relatives of the victims “who can bear to hear me say this”, he sent his most sincere sympathy.
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