Gamal Nkrumah argues that 's trial was purely political and had nothing to do with justice Sceptics in Washington and London spilt much ink criticising what they suspected was the secret deal and subsequent litigation that resulted in Abdel-Baset Ali Mohamed Al- being sentenced to life imprisonment for his alleged role in 21 December 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 passenger airliner over the Scottish village of Lockerbie. The disaster claimed the lives of all 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground. , 57 years old, currently languishing in a Scottish jail, is terminally ill with an advanced case of prostrate cancer. His co-accused, Al-Amin Khalifa Fhima was found not guilty and acquitted. appealed against what he protested was an unfair trial. However, on 14 August 2009, he withdrew his appeal. He was, he explained, a dying man. "There are a number of vested interests who have been deeply opposed to this appeal continuing as they know it would go a considerable way towards exposing the truth behold Lockerbie," Christine Grahame, Scottish National Party stalwart and member of the Scottish parliament remarked. Tom Dalyell, former Labour Party MP for West Lothian concurred with Grahame. He believes that is the victim of a "catastrophic miscarriage of justice". "The verdict was a crushing defeat for moral justice," Mohamed Fayek, head of the Cairo-based Arab Organisation for Human Rights told Al-Ahram Weekly. On 14 September 2008, the Arab League Ministerial Council passed a resolution, to no avail, calling for 's release. In the eyes of many Arabs and Muslims, Western justice seems so vestigial and hypocritical that it lacks any credibility. The coming days will demonstrate whether the British justice system can carry out a credible alternative to turning the ailing into a "scapegoat", as Fayek put it. Much of the "deal" between the Libyans on the one hand and the British and Americans on the other continue to be deemed secretive and outright dubious in nature. Yes, it is known that Libya was taken off the list of countries supporting terrorism and that Tripoli possibly supplied British and American intelligence with vital security information in the international fight against terrorism. Libya also agreed to pay a considerable compensation for the families of the victims of the air disaster. The auguries are not good. The media frenzy over the Lockerbie trial only exacerbated matters. The world now knows that 's condition has "taken a turn for the worse". So what is to be done? If he dies in the Scottish jail in which he is incarcerated, he would be considered a martyr by millions who do not believe that he committed any crime in the first place. If he is released on humanitarian grounds and flown back home to Libya, the families of the victims of the Lockerbie disaster will suspect foul play. The Lockerbie disaster trial was ineluctably associated with failure and a miscarriage of justice. Failure to name the real culprits haunts the judiciary, especially in Britain. Reports leaked to the press suspecting either Syrian or Iranian terrorists behind the bombing of the Pan Am airliner. It might, indeed, be argued that it was virtually impossible for to carry out the Lockerbie bombing single-handedly. Obviously, the future of and the interests of his country are not the same. Libya officially upholds 's innocence, even though for the sake of restoring diplomatic ties with Western nations and of resuming economic and trade activities with the West, Libya has consented to cooperating with Western powers over the Lockerbie affair. "As a matter of principle, we are committed to compensation, but that does not necessarily mean that we condone the incarceration of whom we consider innocent. He is a political hostage, and a victim of the miscarriage of justice. is the sacrificial lamb," Treiki told Al-Ahram Weekly. Treiki's views are shared by most Libyans and by many in Africa, the Arab and Muslim worlds. There were growing doubts in Libya and elsewhere that will live long enough to see the end of the appeal to clear his name, and that may well have prompted to withdraw his appeal. This, after all, is about the worst possible time to try to foist another Muslim martyr on to a Muslim world incensed by perceptions of Western hostility and injustice. The Scottish and British governments at Holyrood and Westminster respectively are at a loss as to how best to handle this prickly case. Moreover, Westminster and the Elysée Palace are at loggerheads with regards to what the French claim is the deplorable manner in which the victims of the French airliner UTA Flight 772 in September 1989 over the Sahara Desert. To add insult to injury, not only were the French victims poorly compensated in monetary terms, but also the six suspected Libyans were convicted in absentia. Gaddafi is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly in New York on 23 September 2009. No doubt, with his flowing robes and flamboyant persona he will speak with a considerable amount of dash. And, cash in hand, he will undoubtedly make a splash. His Amazonian guard will again amuse onlookers and attract attention, but they might not convince the American and British public to show compassion for the biggest convicted mass murderer in British history. However, if US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has anything to do with 's future she will like to see him remain behind bars. "Keep Lockerbie bomber locked up" she thundered. Still, the conviction may be overturned posthumously.
