Three doctors were paid by the Libyan government to conclude that Abdelbaset Al Megrahi had three months to live — the maximum life expectancy to allow him to be freed on compassionate grounds.
Cancer expert professor Karol Sikora said he had been “encouraged” to reach his findings by the Libyans who commissioned his report. He told The Sunday Telegraph that “the figure of three months was suggested as being helpful”. Under Scottish law, any prisoner who is thought to have a life expectancy longer than this is not eligible for the early-release scheme.
The three doctors’ findings contrasted with other medical advice which concluded that Megrahi had up to ten months to live. The claim will add to suspicions that he was released for political rather than medical grounds.
It came as former British prime minister Tony Blair was facing fresh questions about his role in the affair after claims he orchestrated a secret meeting to help bring Libya in from the cold. The Scottish Executive insists the prognosis of the three doctors paid by Libya was not taken into account when it decided to free the 57-year-old.
Al Megrahi was released by Scottish officials last month. He was the lone person convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. The attack killed 259 people aboard the plane, most of them American, and 11 on the ground.
