Media coverage of the book launch

This Birlinn and I launched the book at a press conference in Edinburgh. It generated a huge amount of press coverage, which you can read here.

Much of the coverage centres on Abdelbaset’s decision to drop his appeal and the influence that the Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill might have had upon that decision. To be clear, Abdelbaset does not allege that MacAskill demanded that he drop his appeal. Rather, he recounts a conversation that he had with the Libyan minister al-Obedi, shortly after Obedi and a party of Libyan officials had met with MacAskill and some of his officials. Obedi told him that MacAskill had given him to understand that it would be easier to grant Abdelbaset’s compassionate release application if he dropped his appeal. Abdelbaset also makes clear that he did not want to abandon the appeal, but felt he could not risk continuing with it.

It’s to be hoped that the media press the Scottish government on the far more important question of why the Crown Office withheld so much exculpatory evidence.