United States Publishes Communication Opposing Release of Convicted Pan Am 103 Bomber

摘要

The massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill from a BP oil well in the spring and summer of 2010 fueled criticism in the U.S. Congress and elsewhere of BP's role in advocating a prisoner transfer treaty between the United Kingdom and Libya, potentially facilitating the transfer to Libya of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbasset al-Megrahi. These criticisms prompted British press reports suggesting that U.S. officials had not truly opposed Scotland's decision to transfer al-Megrahi to Libya. In response, the United States took the unusual step of releasing a confidential, August 2009 U.S. diplomatic communication to Scotland's first minister from the U.S. charge d'affaires in London. An excerpt from the department's explanation of this action follows.