S. HRG. 111–781 THE AL-MEGRAHI RELEASE: ONE YEAR LATER

HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS SENATE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 63–235 PDF WASHINGTON : 2011

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001

VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jan 06, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\HEARING FILES\111TH CONGRESS\2010 ISSUE HEARINGS TO PREPARE FOR PRINT COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts, Chairman CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin BOB CORKER, Tennessee BARBARA BOXER, California JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JIM DEMINT, South Carolina ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming JIM WEBB, ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York DAVID MCKean, Staff Director KENNETH A. MYERS, JR., Republican Staff Director

(II)

VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jan 06, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\HEARING FILES\111TH CONGRESS\2010 ISSUE HEARINGS TO PREPARE FOR PRINT CONTENTS

Page Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from Wyoming, prepared statement ...... 47 Gillibrand, Hon. Kirsten E., U.S. Senator from New York, statement ...... 8 Lautenberg, Hon. Frank R., U.S. Senator from New Jersey, statement ...... 5 Prepared statement ...... 7 List of ‘‘Victims of Pan Am 103 Bombing’’ ...... 54 McEldowney, Hon. Nancy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC ...... 10 Prepared statement ...... 14 Responses to questions submitted for the record by Senator Robert Menendez ...... 62 Menendez, Hon. Robert, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, opening statement .... 1 Mohler, Dr. James, senior vice president for translation research, chair, Department of Urology, Roswell Park Center, Buffalo, NY ...... 31 Prepared statement ...... 33 Porter, Dr. Geoff, consultant, New York, NY ...... 39 Prepared statement ...... 41 Sartor, Dr. Oliver, Piltz Professor of Cancer Research, Departments of Medi- cine and Urology, Tulane Medical School, Tulane, LA ...... 36 Prepared statment ...... 38 Swartz, Hon. Bruce, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC ...... 17 Prepared statement ...... 19

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Letter from Hon. Alex Salmond MSP, First Minister of Scotland, St. Andrew’s House, Edingburgh, with an attachment letter from the Scottish Affairs Office, British Embassy ...... 64 Written statements submitted from families of victims of ...... 66

(III)

VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jan 06, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\HEARING FILES\111TH CONGRESS\2010 ISSUE HEARINGS TO PREPARE FOR PRINT VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jan 06, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\HEARING FILES\111TH CONGRESS\2010 ISSUE HEARINGS TO PREPARE FOR PRINT THE AL-MEGRAHI RELEASE: ONE YEAR LATER

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in room SD–419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Robert Menendez, presiding. Present: Senators Menendez, Gillibrand, and Barrasso. Also Present: Senator Frank R. Lautenberg. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY Senator MENENDEZ. This hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will come to order. Good morning, everyone. Let me start off by thanking our witnesses for being here today and participating in this critical hearing to shed some light on the troubling circumstances surrounding the early release of Abdel- basset al-Megrahi, the convicted Pan Am 103 Lockerbie bomber. There are those within my own government, certainly within the Scottish and British Governments, and even some of my colleagues, who wonder why we have collectively pursued today’s hearing. Why I am pushing—and have been pushing—for an investigation into the early release of al-Megrahi. My staff and I have heard from many people who say, ‘‘You will never get al-Megrahi to return to prison, so why bother? Why,’’ they ask, ‘‘would we test the strong relationships between the United Kingdom and the United States? Why, when we have so many other important issues to worry about, like Afghanistan, , and climate change, would you go down this road?’’ Why? I will tell you why. Because on December 21, 1988, 270 in- nocent people were sent to their deaths at the hands of a Libyan terrorist, a mass murderer named Abdelbasset al-Megrahi. One hundred and eighty-nine of the victims were from the United States of America. Thirty-four of them were from New Jersey. Fifty-three of them were from New York. All tolled, we lost citizens from 21 States and the District of Columbia. We are here today because it matters to those who lost their lives, to those who represented them, and, most importantly, it matters to their families. It matters very much. It matters also, in terms of the standards that we set for our fight against terrorism. Do we send a message that a convicted terrorist, a mass murderer can ultimately, after a period of time, be free and live in the lap (1)

VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jan 06, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\HEARING FILES\111TH CONGRESS\2010 ISSUE HEARINGS TO PREPARE FOR PRINT 2 of luxury? Is that the message that we want to send to other would-be terrorists in the world? So, it matters to our national security, as well. We will never forget, nor should we. And I am so, so sorry that we are inconveniencing those who would rather sweep this away into the dustbin of history. We’re here today because the terms of the 1998 Lockerbie justice agreement clearly state that any sentence must be served in the United Kingdom. In the letter of agreement from the United King- dom and the U.S. Acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations, formally approved by the Security Council Resolution 1192, it states, ‘‘For the purpose of the trial, we shall not seek their transfer to any jurisdiction other than the Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands, and, if found guilty, the two accused will serve their sentence in the United Kingdom.’’ The language of the agree- ment could not be any clearer: ‘‘they would serve their sentence in the United Kingdom.’’ We are a nation founded on the rule of law; and when the law and our notion of justice is turned on its head, for whatever reason, we believe it is our obligation to turn it back again. It is our obliga- tion to ask hard questions, to demand answers, to get the truth, no matter where it leads or who might be inconvenienced by it. The fact is that the Scottish Government claims to have released Mr. al-Megrahi from prison because he was dying of prostate can- cer and had just 3 months to live. They offered him compassionate release, something that clearly is permissible under Scottish law. But, precedent provided that certain conditions be met. Had those conditions been met, had laws and precedent been appropriately followed, while I would still vehemently disagree with the decision, I would respect the right of the Scottish Government to exercise its jurisdiction. But, as we will see as