Word: megrahi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Lockerbie trial may be over, but the standoff it was designed to resolve between Libya and the West continues. U.S. and British leaders responded to Wednesday's conviction of Libyan intelligence operative Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi for the bombing of Pan Am 103 by insisting that sanctions will not be lifted until the Libyan government accepts responsibility for the attack and pays compensation to the families of the victims. The response from Tripoli, in the words of its foreign minister: "Never." Well, never say never - Libya's ambassador to London hinted Thursday that Tripoli may indeed be prepared...
...next week to discuss what remains to be done in order to have the sanctions lifted. Even though Libya has the backing of the Arab League in demanding an immediate end to sanctions, don't expect any movement soon. For one thing, the Libyans want to wait until Megrahi's appeal is over before considering compensation - and that'll be just fine with the West. Ghaddafi's neighbors may begin simply ignoring sanctions as they have been doing with Iraq, but it could still be years before the West lifts its embargo...
...Megrahi was freed after serving only eight years of a life sentence for 270 counts of murder. U.S. officials had pleaded with Britain and Scottish officials in recent weeks to block his release, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that she was bitterly disappointed that he had been freed. There was also strong criticism from family members of some of the victims; 259 passengers were killed when a bomb exploded mid-air aboard the doomed aircraft over Lockerbie, Scotland, and 11 others who were on the ground died from falling debris. (Read: "Re-Opening the Lockerbie Tragedy...
...Some oil analysts and Libya watchers on Friday said they suspected that British officials had tacitly made it known to Libyan officials that they would not object to Scotland releasing Megrahi - even if they stopped short of reassuring Libya that he would be freed. Scotland's Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill insists he made the decision alone, after meeting with Clinton and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and holding a video conference with U.S. relatives. But the BBC reported last week that British business minister Peter Mandelson had held a brief conversation earlier this month with Seif Gaddafi, when...
...state-run National Oil Company; BP believes the deal could ultimately earn it about $15 billion in oil revenues. But Blair has denied that there was ever a link between the deal and the release, telling CNN on Saturday that he didn't have the power to arrange Megrahi's release. "I wasn't in a position to say so-and-so should be released. That's not the way the British system works. And the release of Mr. Megrahi, as I understand it, has been done by the Scottish Executive which, obviously, not only myself, but my successor...