Hans Kochler: 'I strongly suspect he was pressurised into dropping appeal'

It fulfils the international obligations the United Kingdom entered into with the United States after the explosion of the Pan Am jet over Lockerbie.

In January 2001, then foreign secretary Robin Cook confirmed that Megrahi should serve out his prison sentence in a Scottish jail. Compassionate release means the prison term has been served, therefore his decision does not challenge the UK's commitment to the US.

I also believe that it was the correct decision in humanitarian terms because I trust that reports by Scottish doctors describing the severity of Megrahi's terminal cancer were accurate. I have not seen those reports, but justice secretary Kenny MacAskill has.

But where I do have concerns is over the sequence of meetings and announcements that finally led to Megrahi's release.

There ought to have been no connection between the compassionate release and Megrahi's decision to drop his appeal against his conviction of the Lockerbie mass-murder.

This month, I wrote to MacAskill warning him that it would be unacceptable on human rights grounds and in legal terms if it was proved that the withdrawal of Megrahi's appeal had been a condition of his release on compassionate grounds.

But I do have my suspicions that a back-room deal was done between the Scottish Government, the UK government and the Libyans that resulted in him dropping his appeal. I do not have first-hand knowledge of this, but my interpretation is based on fact that I know Megrahi and I know how determined Megrahi was to challenge his conviction.

I had several conversations with him when he was in jail in the Netherlands and I also know that this was his attitude because of a letter he wrote to me when he was in prison in Scotland. I also believe that there are many legitimate doubts over the safety of his conviction. So, I just cannot understand why he would have dropped his appeal when it wasn't legally necessary for him to do so.

My suspicions were also aroused by the close timings of various meetings Megrahi had just before his legal team declared it would not continue to pursue the appeal. He dropped his appeal shortly after MacAskill visited him in jail and just a couple of days after a visit from a Libyan delegation. Shortly after the appeal was no longer an issue, MacAskill released him.

MacAskill would not have made any such demand himself. The question is: what has been intimated? I can only say that I strongly suspect that Megrahi was pressurised into dropping his appeal.

And you cannot say you're compassionate if Megrahi was induced in such an emotionally desperate situation to give up judicial proceedings, which could have easily gone ahead even once he was dead.

What I do know is that the UK government was interested in having Megrahi returned to his homeland. There was this understanding between Libya and the UK, which was discussed in many confidential meetings. One of those recent meetings may have been the one between Lord Mandelson and the son of Colonel Gaddafi in Corfu.

It is a very close political, commercial and strategic partnership between the two countries. Within this framework it was quite natural for the UK to have this settled in such a way. As far as I can see both sides UK and Libya had no interest in the continuation of the judicial proceedings.