'Put him on trial': U.S. Lockerbie families urge 'soft touch' Britain to bring Gaddafi defector to justice

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 07:56 EDT, 1 April 2011

• Musa Kusa, the brains behind Lockerbie bombing, defects to UK
  
• Calls for Kusa to face court for 'war crimes'
  
• Lockerbie relative hails a 'great day' in search for truth of atrocity

Defection: Libya's Foreign Minister Musa Kusa flew into the UK from Tunisia last night and has said he is 'no longer willing' to represent the regime

Relatives of American victims of the Lockerbie bombing today demanded the British government bring to justice the former Libyan foreign minister after he defected to the UK.

Musa Kusa is said to have been the brains behind the 1988 bombing of the Pan Am flight - which killed 270 people - and was today being questioned in a 'secure location' in the UK after defecting following pressure from British intelligence.

Relatives of U.S. victims today called on the UK government and Prime Minister David Cameron to ensure Kusa is brought to trial - but warned he chose to flee to Britain because it is seen as a 'soft touch'.

Many families remain outraged that the Lockerbie bomber – Abdel Basset al-Megrahi – was handed back to Libya by authorities in Scotland.

Mr Cameron was last night accused of giving Kusa – Gaddafi's 'envoy of death' – a ‘get out of jail free card’.

It is estimated that housing and guarding the former Libyan foreign minister will cost British taxpayers more than $1.5 million a year.

But Mr Cameron hailed the defection of Kusa as a ‘serious blow’ to the ‘crumbling and rotten Gaddafi regime’.

Last night sources said two more senior Gaddafi figures were in Tunis discussing deals with British and French intelligence officers, while at least eight others have defected to Tunisia.

In all, 12 former henchmen could be ready to defect to Britain. But as MI6 and the Foreign Office welcomed Kusa, critics said he should face justice like Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy who fled to Britain in 1941.

Scottish prosecutors demanded to question the defector about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. Detectives from Scotland Yard are also set to talk to him about the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher by a Libyan gunman in 1984.

Atrocity: The damaged cockpit of the 747 Pan Am airliner that exploded and crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland, with 259 passengers on board in 1988.

Families of those killed in Lockerbie, Britain’s worst terror atrocity, branded the UK a ‘soft touch’.

Frank Duggan, president of Pan Am 103 inc, which represents the families of those who lost loved ones in the Lockerbie bombing, said: ‘Just looking at Kusa makes me sick knowing what he has done.

‘This guy should be in jail and justice should run its course.

‘He clearly went to the UK because Britain is a soft touch and because of the way they treated the Lockerbie bomber.

‘Kusa is clearly a goldmine of intelligence and he should be squeezed for what Britain can get then put on trial.

‘What we don’t want to see is him being taken into protective custody and living the life of luxury like Megrahi, but with the British government you never know.’

Susan Cohen, 72, of Cape May, New Jersey, who lost her 20-year-old daughter Theodora in the bombing, added: ‘He should go to jail, he has to be put on trial and he has to see justice.

‘Britain has to take responsibility for this guy and do the right thing. This time Britain has to mean it.

‘Musa Kusa is an evil man, and they don’t come more horrible in this world, but he knows what happened with the Lockerbie bombing and he can point the finger at Gaddafi.

Pushed back: Libyan rebels fire rockets against forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafii at a position 12 miles from Brega

Losing confidence: Western governments are increasingly concluding that the rebels will not be able to topple Gaddafi without decisive military intervention

No match for Gaddafi: Rebels run for cover after a shell fired by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi exploded in a direct hit on a vehicle near Brega in eastern Libya

ABDEL BASSET AL-MEGRAHI, THE KILLER SHOWN COMPASSION BY UK

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, 58, an alleged former intelligence officer and former head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, was convicted in January 2001 of 270 counts of murder for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

In August 2009, it became apparent that the Scottish government was planning to transfer Megrahi from Greenock Prison to Libya. His advanced and terminal prostate cancer was cited as a reason for the transfer - on compassionate grounds.

Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill, faced international pressure from UK and U.S. politicians, as well as U.S. victims' groups, all urging him not to release Megrahi.

On August 20, Mr MacAskill granted his release on compassionate grounds, stating that Megrahi was in the final stages of terminal prostate cancer and expected to die within three months.

Mr MacAskill said he was 'bound by Scottish values to release him', and allow him to die in his home country of Libya.

Megrahi had served just more than eight years of his life sentence.

He was taken to Glasgow Airport and flown on a specially chartered Afriqiyah Airways Airbus to Tripoli, where he was met by a crowd of several hundred young people - some waving Libyan or Scottish flags.

Megrahi was pictured with his hands being held aloft in victory by Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader, dressed in a traditional white robe and golden embroidered vest.

Megrahi is currently living with his family in the New Damascus district in west Tripoli, in a villa reportedly paid for by the Libyan government.

‘Kusa has to talk and tell us on the record that Gaddafi ordered the Lockerbie bombing and Britain has to release that to the public.

‘There can be no hiding behind secrets or any games. Britain has to tell us what he knows.

'It's a Sophie's Choice - the guy should be shot in my view but at the same time he knows things that nobody else does'.

But Scotsman Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the attack, said today relatives should welcome the development because Kusa could 'finally reveal 'how Libya carried out the atrocity and why'.

Mr Swire said: 'Today those relatives who seek the truth about why their families were murdered should be rejoicing.

'Kusa was at the centre of Gaddafi's inner circle. This is a guy who knows everything.

'I think this is a fantastic day for those who seek the truth about Lockerbie. He could tell us everything the Gaddafi regime knows.'

Mr Swire, who met Kusa during a visit to Libya in 1998, said he was 'extremely frightening. More frightening than Gaddafi himself'.

He said: 'He was clearly running things. If Libya was involved in Lockerbie, he can tell us how they carried out the atrocity and why. I would be appalled if by now the Scottish police are not in England interviewing Mr Kusa. It is a great day for us.'

Libyan rebels are also calling for Kusa - a former head of Lbyan intelligence - to be handed to them to face justice.

British MPs are also gunning for Kusa over his support for the IRA during the height of its mainland bombing campaign. Libya supplied Semtex to the Provisionals in the 1970s and 1980s.

Yesterday MPs said taxpayers should not have to foot the bill to protect Kusa from assassination.

But sources said Kusa’s life was in danger. A Downing Street source said: ‘There’s a reason why we have put him in a safe and secure place.

Kusa fled to Britain from Tunisia on a private plane on Wednesday night. Last night he was at a safehouse in the Home Counties and is unlikely to be seen in public for several weeks.

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The Prime Minister denied Kusa had been promised he could avoid prosecution – either from British justice or the International Criminal Court.

Mr Cameron said: ‘Let me be clear, Musa Kusa is not being granted immunity, there is no deal of that kind.

‘The point I would make about the dreadful events over Lockerbie, that investigation is still open and the police and the prosecuting authorities are entirely independent of Government, and they should follow their evidence wherever it leads, and the Government will assist them in any way possible.’

But security sources said MI6 had helped negotiate Kusa’s escape from Libya and he was given promises he would be looked after.

Former MI6 officer Harry Ferguson said: ‘This is a get out of jail free card. He has been speaking to our intelligence services for quite some time.’

Air strikes: A French Mirage 2000 fighter jet approaches an airborne refuelling tanker above the Mediterranean sea as part of military actions over Libya.

Destroyed: Video from a Belgian F16 aircraft shows a a Libyan plane being destroyed on the ground

Retreat: A map of the situation in Libya. Gaddafi's forces are now closing in on Brega

Reports last night also suggested Gaddafi’s regime has sent one of its most trusted envoys to London for confidential talks with British officials.

Mohammed Ismail, a senior aide to Gaddafi’s son Saif, visited London in recent days, sources familiar with the meeting told the Guardian.

The contacts with Ismail are believed to have been one of a number between Libyan officials and western nations in the last fortnight, amid signs the regime may be looking for an exit strategy.

As the man who had helped broker Libya’s return to the international stage – and in particular Gaddafi’s meeting with Tony Blair in the desert, Kusa has also had a long-standing connection with MI6.

Libyan hands: Debris lies in a deep gash through the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, caused by the crash of Pan Am flight 103

Released: Abdelbaset Al Megrahi (left), who was jailed for the Lockerbie bombing, with Colonel Gaddafi's son Saif on his triumphant return to Libya in 2009

In an astonishing bid to paint him as friend of Britain, several government officials launched a public relations campaign, briefing that he is unlikely ever to face court.

‘There is no evidence that he was behind the Lockerbie bombing,’ one official said.

Tory MP Robert Halfon said: ‘I think what has happened is comparable to Rudolf Hess coming here during the Second World War.

‘The fact is that this man is most likely a war criminal, allegedly been responsible for the deaths of British citizens, allegedly the organiser of the Lockerbie bombing. He needs to go to the international court to face trials for war crimes.

‘There’s no way the British taxpayer should be subsidising one of Gaddafi’s henchmen to live in the UK.’

Dawn battle: Rebels run for cover after a shell fired by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi exploded in a direct hit on a vehicle near Brega

No match for Gaddafi's forces: Rebel fighters, one with unorthodox headgear, ride a vehicle as they drive east on the road between Ras Lanuf and Brega

Goggles: Rebels retreat after forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi attacked them near Brega

Last night, Whitehall officials conceded there is little hope of removing Kusa from the UK for the foreseeable future.

Any attempt to remove him forcibly would be met with a human rights claim. He cannot be returned to Libya while it remains under Gadaffi’s control for fear he would be executed or tortured.

The British courts would not consider his removal until a stable government had been established in Libya with a sound human rights record – a process likely to take years.

Home Office officials will limit the fallout by placing him on a special restricted status.

Instead of being granted indefinite leave to remain, he is likely to be awarded only ‘discretionary leave’, which means his case will be reviewed every six months, and access to state handouts will be restricted.

It is the same status currently enjoyed by the notorious Afghan hijackers who forced the crew of an airliner to land at Stansted 11 years ago. All nine remain here.

Libyan exile groups branded Mr Kusa ‘the envoy of death’ for his role in the 1980s directing terrorist atrocities across Europe and organising the murder of exiled opponents of the Gaddafi regime.

Foreign Secretary William Hague earlier hailed Kusa's defection as a sign that Gaddafi's regime was crumbling.

'Gaddafi must be asking himself who will be the next to abandon him,' he said.

But the Libyan leader and his sons today insisted they were in the country and were determined to stay 'until the end'. Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said: 'Rest assured, we are all here. We will remain here until the end. This is our country. We are strong on every front.'

The dictator's forces are still making progress on the ground in Libya today, as they continued to push back rebels in the east of the country - amid reports that government soldiers are making themselves harder to target by riding in civilian 'battle wagons' rather than tanks.

That makes it harder for pilots to distinguish Gaddafi's better armed and trained forces from the rebels, as troops from the regime close on the city of Brega.

U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton suggested that there was a possibility of arming rebels - although they stressed no decisions had been taken.

Special forces and CIA teams are also on the ground with rebel forces as it emerged that Barack Obama signed an order authorising covert assistance to the opposition forces weeks ago.

In Tripoli, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, was in denial about  Kusa's defection. He claimed the Foreign minister was in London on a 'diplomatic mission'.