Part 108 – OCTOBER 18, 1988
"If Megrahi was not involved, or even if only a minor part of the conspiracy, then who is guilty? One theory that remains is that Iran commissioned the attack, perhaps employing Palestinian guerrillas, in retaliation for the shooting down of an Iranian airliner by the US military. Whatever the truth, it must be exposed." - The Scotsman's leading article, October 22, 2008:
On Tuesday Oct. 18 1988, Khreesat and Dalkamoni went to Dusseldorf. Khreesat's wife accompanied them. They went to a large store where the second floor contained a large stock of second-hand electrical appliances.
There, they finally found suitable radios. They bought two tuners. The tuners were of different brands. They then went to a second store and found and purchased a monitor. At they second store, they also bought some tools.
After this, they returned home. Then, later in the day, Dalkamoni brought some explosive into the flat at 16 Isarstrasse in Neuss.The plastic explosive weighed approximately two to two and one-half kilogrammes. The explosive was in a brown box with wax paper.
Dalkamoni told Khreesat that he brought it from Frankfurt and that it was a good explosive. Khreesat understood that there was a supply or storage place somewhere in Frankfurt, but Dalkamoni did not tell Khreesat the exact location.
Next, Dalkamoni calls a man in Damascus named "Abed" who most likely is Ahmed Jibril himself. Dalkamoni tells him that everything will be ready in a couple of days.
Then, he put Khreesat on the phone, after introducing him as "Safi". Khreesat tells "Abed" that he has made some changes to "the medicine". Now it is stronger and better. "Abed" is sastified that "things are under way."
At 6.10 pm, Dalkamoni met Ramzi Diab. In his early thirties, Diab is a member of Jibril PFLP-GC. After their meeting, Diab left in a car that belongs to Bassam Radi, a member of Adnan Younis terrorist cell. Younis, aka Abu Tarek, is also a member of the PFLP-GC.
Talb goes to Malta
Today, Abu Talb, who has stayed in Cyprus until October 3, leaves for Malta where he will stay until the 26th. While in Rome for a stopover, Talb changes his plan and decides to fly to Libya. A Libyan man named Fawzi lent him some money to cover the expense of the ticket. Then, while his bags are already on the airliner bound to Benghazi, Talb reverts to his original plan, and flies to Malta
Interogated by SAPO in August 1989, Talb said that he knew Fawzi since 1977. But when questioned in April 1990 in the context of the Lockerbie bombing, Talb told the investigators that he had met Fawzi on Oct. 18 at the Rome airport for the first time.
Secret U.S.-Iran Negotiations
Whatever is going on in the US-Iran negotiations, which according to US officials are not taking place, it would appear that both sides are gearing up for a major event. According to Western diplomats, the Revolutionary Guards have been withdrawn from the United States Embassy in Teheran and the complex is being refurbished.
Back to the Present
Yesterday it was announced that Megrahi has been diagnosed with 'advanced' cancer and may have only weeks to live. "Following hospital tests, Mr Al Megrahi was last month diagnosed with prostate cancer. Unfortunately the disease has spread to other parts of his body," his lawyer Tony Kelly confirmed.
Today, the Scotsman runs three articles plus an editorial. Two of the articles are by Michael Howie and are headlined "Al-Megrahi: the dilemma" and "Lockerbie bombing: Appeal could go ahead even if he's dead". The third is an op-ed piece by Tam Dalyell under the headline "Issue is not only Megrahi, but integrity of Scottish legal system … this case does not cease simply because of death".
Tam Dalyell was a Labour member of the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005. During his rather astonishingly long career in the House, Dalyell has led no less than 17 Adjournment debates on the Lockerbie bombing, in which he repeatedly demanded answers by the government to the reports of Hans Kochler, the United Nations observer at the Lockerbie Trial. His latest comments are extraordinary.
"If I thought there was any scintilla of possibility that he was guilty of mass murder, I might agree with Ruth Cohen, the intransigent American relative, who says she has no pity. But the American relatives, intent on vengeance, should understand that the United States scapegoated Libya, a country which had nothing whatever to do with the Lockerbie crime, at a time when they wanted to blame someone, small and unpopular, in order not to have trouble with Iran and Syria, who harboured the real perpetrators, before the planned invasion of Iraq," Dalyell wrote.
"The dreadful question has to be asked – if Mr Megrahi's illness is as terminal as is indicated in medical bulletins, what happens now? Do we just sweep it under the carpet; do we allow it to evaporate or go away? Certainly not, say some of us. The issue is not only Mr Megrahi, but the integrity and good name of the Scottish legal system."
"There are many people who want to see this sorted," said Dr Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the bombing of Pan Am 103.
"The death of the accused, without a further appeal, would not be right and would be bad for the Scottish legal system. I feel confident that members of our group would wish the appeal to continue no matter what."
"If his prognosis is bad then I hope that the Scottish authorities would look for a way of speeding up the next appeal without compromising the fairness of it. It would be an act of great humanity."
NOTES AND REFERENCES
IRAN SAID TO WORK ON U.S. EMBASSY - October 18, 1988
