- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it did not ask for the Parliament to be recalled prior to the decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds.
Answer
As I explained in my statement, these were decisions for me as Cabinet Secretary for Justice, following due process. They were not decisions for Parliament, and should not have been subject to influence from Parliament. I am accountable to Parliament for the decisions I took.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees that where an appeal is ongoing, a prisoner transfer request cannot be considered.
Answer
No. One of the criteria set out in the Prisoner Transfer Agreement between the United Kingdom and Libya is that the judgement is final and no other criminal proceedings are pending. An on-going appeal does not, however, prevent an application being considered to establish whether the other criteria are met.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) emails and (b) letters the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has received disagreeing with his decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds, broken down by country of origin.
Answer
The information requested is not available.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it decided to announce the decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds to the media first, rather than to (a) the families of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing or (b) the Parliament.
Answer
My decisions on the applications for prisoner transfer and compassionate release were communicated to the families of the victims ahead of my announcement. Parliament was not in session. I repeated my statement in the Parliament on 24 August.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when it ruled out the prisoner transfer request of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi and for what reasons.
Answer
On 19 August 2009, for the reasons set out in my statement on 20 August and repeated to the Parliament on 24 August.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister stands by his comments made on 7 June 2007 that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, should serve out his sentence in Scotland.
Answer
In his statement to the Parliament the First Minister drew attention to the assurances that had been given before the trial that any sentence would be served in Scotland. Those assurances have been the subject of correspondence with the UK and US governments, as explained in my statement on 20 August 2009.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many health officials submitted evidence on Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi’s health to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice for consideration and how many of those submissions were considered in making the final decision to release Mr Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds.
Answer
As set out in my statement on 20 August, and again on 24 August and 2 September, my decision on the application for compassionate release was based on the report from the Director of Health and Care of the Scottish Prison Service. He had access to all Mr Megrahi''s medical records. That report is clear. Taking all the medical advice into account the Director''s view is that the clinical assessment is that a three month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate for this patient.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees that, given that there was on ongoing appeal against the length of the sentence imposed on Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the prisoner transfer request was, as a result, incompetent.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the evidence submitted to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in relation to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi’s health, what the (a) shortest and (b) longest estimate was of how long Mr Al Megrahi would survive.
Answer
The advice to me was that the clinical assessment is that a three month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate for this patient. That relates to the median life expectancy “ minimum and maximum life expectancies have not been estimated. As I said in my statement on 20 August, he may die sooner or he may live longer. I could only base my decision on the medical advice I had before me.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, if a decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds was not made by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice until 19 August 2009, for what reason it states on its website in respect of Mr Al Megrahi that “plans for transfer of care to Libyan health service have been made” in a document signed and dated 10 August 2009.
Answer
Contingency plans were made for all of the possible outcomes that might flow from my decisions on the applications for prisoner transfer and for compassionate release.
