The Libyan secret agent convicted of the Lockerbie bombing was moved on Thursday from his specially constructed ”Gadaffi’s cafe” cell to Greenock prison where he will be free to mix with other inmates.
Abdel Baset al-Megrahi has been in Barlinnie prison, Glasgow, since 2002, following his conviction in January 2001 of the murder of 270 people after a Pan Am Boeing 747 blew up above Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, killing all 259 passengers and crew, and 11 people on the ground.
Part of the agreement by which Libya sent its two nationals for trial in The Netherlands that Megrahi should serve his sentence in the Barlinnie cell, which cost £250 000. But the acquittal of his co-accused, Al-Amin Khalifah Fhimah, left him in effect in solitary confinement.
A source in the Scottish Prison Service told The Guardian: ”He has a 27-year sentence to serve, and we cannot reasonably look to keep him in isolation for that time. He will be free to mingle with other prisoners in Greenock.”
Megrahi’s integration with other life prisoners in Greenock would be gradual.
But Megrahi’s Glasgow solicitor, Eddie MacKechnie, said: ”My client is not a man who considers himself to be a Scottish prisoner for the rest of his life. He is fighting for his freedom and has no desire to be moved.”
Megrahi’s family have a house on the outskirts of Glasgow and visit him regularly.
Prosecution and defence both intend to appeal against the sentence.
MacKechnie had intended to argue that it was too severe, since Megrahi was being kept in solitary confinement. The crown will argue that it is unduly lenient.
The decision to keep Megrahi separate from other prisoners was criticised by Nelson Mandela when he visited him. Mandela, however, wanted Megrahi to serve his sentence in an Arab country, not 40km down the Clyde at Greenock.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which was set up to examine miscarriages of justice, is expected to rule shortly whether Megrahi is entitled to appeal against his conviction. – Guardian Unlimited Â