Lockerbie Bomber's Docs Didn't Agree on Prognosis

Investigation looks in to those to treated Megrahi
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 6, 2010 6:12 AM CDT
Lockerbie Bomber's Docs Didn't Agree on Prognosis
Abdel Baset al-Megrahi gestures on his arrival at an airport in Tripoli, Libya after his release last August.   (AP Photo/File)

The Scottish doctor who gave the convicted Lockerbie bomber 3 months to live a year ago did so without having the four British specialists who treated Abdelbasat Ali al-Megrahi for prostate cancer sign off on the conclusion, a Wall Street Journal investigation finds. The dire prognosis—which formed the basis for Megrahi's release on compassionate grounds—was given to the British government by Andrew Fraser, the doctor who runs Scotland's prison health system. The two urologists who treated Megrahi say they were never even asked how long they thought he would live.

Specialists hired by the Libyan government who examined Megrahi but never treated him—including one who now believes Megrahi could live for another 10 years—agreed with the 3-month prognosis, although Fraser says their opinions had no impact on his decision. Megrahi's case has come under renewed scrutiny amid accusations that BP persuaded the Scottish government to release the Libyan. US lawmakers are demanding that the Scots release the medical information that would show exactly what Fraser based his decision on.
(More Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi stories.)

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