Libyan blackmail

[Barry Shnikov]

Have a look at this.

$1,000,000 dollars per family; 400 affected children.

If the EU paid $400 million to get these nurses out of jail in Libya when it is as clear as it could possibly be that the charges against them were completely untrue, then we might as well just phone Osama bin Laden and ask him how much he will take not to bomb us in future.

[Dreadful Scathe]

its the most bizarre case..they were convicted because

Relatives of the infected children claimed the infections were part of a Western attempt to undermine Muslims and Libya

because "The West" would attempt to murder children to make Muslims look bad? Some simple education for the deluded relatives would have sorted that, but no...lets make it political and have some nasty innocent westerners suffer. I think the whole case undermines Muslims and Libya...

...wait that can't be right.....

[Chef]

How much did the Libyan goverment pay in compensation, per person, for all the people killed in Lockerbie?

[Dreadful Scathe]

£1.7billion : see here

- so whats that..er..10 million per person

[Chef]

£1.7billion : see here

- so whats that..er..10 million per person

Seems like we are getting a bargain then at only 1 million per person, even if you subtract the cost of the aircraft.

I have followed this story and still have not seen why the Libyans think that it was a deliberate act to infect these children, rather than just unbelivable incompetance on the part of the bulgarian medical staff. Does anyone know more of the detail of the case?

[Barry Shnikov]

Seems like we are getting a bargain then at only 1 million per person, even if you subtract the cost of the aircraft.

I have followed this story and still have not seen why the Libyans think that it was a deliberate act to infect these children, rather than just unbelivable incompetance on the part of the bulgarian medical staff. Does anyone know more of the detail of the case?

It was just a trumped-up case from the beginning. Whether the kids got the disease from bad handling practices in hospital, or from their parents, or infected blood transfusions - who cares?

The Lockerbie point is good, though. Especially when it now looks like we are going to have to face the strong likelihood is that the case was trumped up against Libya because addressing the alleged real villains - Iran and Syria - was politically inexpedient at the time...

[Stuart M]

The Lockerbie point is good, though. Especially when it now looks like we are going to have to face the strong likelihood is that the case was trumped up against Libya because addressing the alleged real villains - Iran and Syria - was politically inexpedient at the time...

And of course, it's now very politically expedient to pin it on Iran.

Maybe in another 20 years or so they'll blame Canada.

[Barry Shnikov]

And of course, it's now very politically expedient to pin it on Iran.

Maybe in another 20 years or so they'll blame Canada.

I took my general opinion of the Lockerbie trial from a Private Eye special (which might have been written by Paul Foot) in which he pointed out the glaring gaps and inconsistencies in the 'It was Libya!' version of events, and pointed to Iran as the likely culprit as a revenge attack for the Iranian airliner downed (not on purpose) by a US cruiser in the Gulf. So pinning it on Iran might be expedient now but many of us would have accused them all along.