Word: scottishness
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...bloodless coup that brought him to power. And it might have been, had the world's longest-serving ruler not been wrangling for nearly two weeks with British and U.S. officials over the rapturous homecoming of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi after his release from a Scottish prison...
...attempt to tamp down the scandal, the British and Scottish governments published a batch of letters online on Sept. 1 detailing the discussions over how to handle al-Megrahi. The letters date back to June 2007, when British oil companies were negotiating huge new deals in Libya. In February 2008, British Justice Minister Jack Straw wrote to Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, that "developing a strong relationship with Libya ... is good for the U.K.," adding that Libya "is one of only two countries to have ever voluntarily and transparently dismantled its weapons of mass destruction program...
...Scottish document in particular could cause grief for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who insists that Britain had nothing to do with al-Megrahi's release. By contrast, the document, the minutes of a March 2009 meeting between Libyan and Scottish officials, says a Libyan minister recounted being told by British Foreign Minister Bill Rammell "that neither the prime minister [Brown] nor the foreign secretary [David Miliband] would want Mr. Megrahi to pass away in prison, but the decision on transfer lies in the hands of the Scottish ministers." If the critically ill al-Megrahi died in jail, the Libyan minister...
...care and overall lifestyle, involvement in his care and compliance with treatment." Justice Minister Straw has said he originally argued to have al-Megrahi excluded from last November's bilateral prisoner-transfer agreement but ultimately gave in to Libya's demands; in the end, al-Megrahi was freed under Scottish law, which permits compassionate releases...
...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, has no influence over." (Read: "Terrorism Solving the Lockerbie Case...