Triumphal Return of Lockerbie Bomber Criticized

British and Scottish officials joined the United States on Friday in criticizing the way Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, was welcomed home in Tripoli as a hero late Thursday after the Scottish government ordered his release from prison on compassionate grounds.

President Barack Obama himself had strongly opposed the Scottish decision to free Mr. Megrahi on the grounds that he was dying of prostate cancer and had only months to live. Less than three hours after the decision was announced, Mr. Megrahi was on his way home aboard a jet sent from Tripoli.

His release drew outrage from the families of some of those who died when a bomb smuggled on board Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988, killing 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. Of the dead, 189 were Americans.

News reports Friday said Mr. Megrahi would meet in person with Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader who has long sought the convict’s freedom and who is preparing to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the military coup that overthrew King Idris and brought him to power on Sept. 1, 1969. Western officials said they feared Col. Qaddafi would parade Mr. Megrahi at those celebrations as the emblem of a diplomatic triumph.

Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister, criticized Mr. Megrahi’s hero’s welcome in Tripoli, during which hundreds of young Libyans waved Scottish flags, saying on Friday that he did not believe it was “appropriate.” 

And David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, said Libya’s handling of Mr. Megrahi’s return home would “be very significant in the way the world sees Libya’s re-entry into the civilized community of nations” after its earlier years as a pariah state. 

Mr. Miliband also took issue with the way Mr. Megrahi was welcomed. “The sight of a mass murder getting a hero’s welcome in Tripoli is deeply disturbing especially for the 270 families and also for anyone who has got an ounce of humanity in them,” he said.

Anger at Lockerbie bomber welcome

Relatives of those who died in the bombing of a US plane over Lockerbie voiced anger as the man convicted of the attack was welcomed home in Libya.

Crowds in Tripoli greeted Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, after he was freed from prison on compassionate grounds. 

The son of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi called his release a courageous step by Scotland and Britain. 

But there was angry reaction from families of those killed in the bombing and from US President Barack Obama. 

Most of the 270 people who died when Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie in 1988 were Americans. 

Mr Obama said Megrahi's release, eight years into his life sentence, was "a mistake". 

He said his administration had told the Libyan government that Megrahi, who has terminal cancer, should not receive a hero's welcome and should be placed under house arrest. 

Hundreds of people, nonetheless, turned out to meet Megrahi's plane as it landed in Tripoli, many waving flags. 

Megrahi, who had changed from tracksuit he wore to leave Greenock prison in Scotland into a dark suit, was met by Col Gaddafi's son. 

"I would like to thank the Scottish government for its courageous decision and understanding of a special human situation," Seif al-Islam Gaddafi was quoted as saying. 

There was a considerable amount of new evidence to show that he was innocent, he is reported to have added. 

Megrahi was then taken to his family home where his wife, Aisha, said she was "overjoyed". 

"It is a great moment, which we have been waiting for for nine years," she said. "The house is full to bursting, everyone who loves Abdelbaset is with us."

Scotland frees terminally ill Lockerbie bomber

EDINBURGH, Scotland – Scotland freed the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds Thursday, allowing him to go home to Libya to die and rejecting American pleas for justice in the 1988 attack that killed 270 people.

As the White House declared it "deeply regrets" the Scottish decision and U.S. family members of Lockerbie victims expressed outrage, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi left Greenock Prison and flew out of Glasgow Airport on a Libyan Airbus plane.

"I think it's appalling, disgusting and so sickening I can hardly find words to describe it," said Susan Cohen of Cape May Court House, New Jersey, whose 20-year-old daughter, Theodora, died in the attack. "This isn't about compassionate release. This is part of give-Gadhafi-what-he-wants-so-we-can-have-the-oil."

Al-Megrahi, who had served only eight years of his life sentence, was recently given only months to live after being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said although al-Megrahi had not shown compassion to his victims — many of whom were American college students flying home to New York for Christmas — MacAskill was motivated by Scottish values to show mercy.

"Some hurts can never heal, some scars can never fade," MacAskill said. "Those who have been bereaved cannot be expected to forget, let alone forgive ... However, Mr. al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power."

Al-Megrahi, 57, was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. He was sentenced to life in prison. The airliner exploded over Scotland, and all 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when it crashed into the town of Lockerbie.

The former Libyan intelligence officer was sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years in a Scottish prison for Britain's deadliest terrorist attack. But a 2007 review of his case found grounds for an appeal of his conviction, and many in Britain believe he is innocent.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday the United States disagreed with the decision to free al-Megrahi.

"We continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland," Gibbs said. "On this day, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live every day with the loss of their loved ones."

"I don't understand how the Scots can show compassion. It's an utter insult and utterly disgusting," said Kara Weipz, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, whose 20-year-old brother Richard Monetti was on board Pan Am Flight 103. "It's horrible. I don't show compassion for someone who showed no remorse."

MacAskill said he stood by al-Megrahi's conviction and the sentence for "the worst terrorist atrocity ever committed on U.K. soil."

He said he ruled out sending the bomber back to Libya under a prisoner-transfer agreement, saying the U.S. victims had been given assurances that al-Megrahi would serve out his sentence in Scotland.

But he said that as a prisoner given less than three months to live by doctors, al-Megrahi was eligible for compassionate release.

"I am conscious that there are deeply held feelings and many will disagree whatever my decision," he said. "However, a decision has to be made."

Al-Megrahi's return will be a landmark event in Libya and a cause for celebration. His countrymen see him as an innocent victim scapegoated by the West in a campaign to turn their country into an international pariah. Many will also view his release as a moral victory for their country.

It was not immediately clear exactly how al-Megrahi will be received at home. He could be taken to meet Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi or appear at an annual rally planned for Thursday night. The rally is held every year on Aug. 20 for Libyans to hear a progress report from Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, on projects he is working on.

However, al-Megrahi may also be taken directly to a hospital if he needs immediate medical care. 

Gadhafi engineered a rapprochement with his former critics following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He renounced terrorism, dismantled Libya's secret nuclear program, accepted his government's responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families. 

Western energy companies — including Britain's BP PLC — have moved into Libya in an effort to tap the country's vast oil and gas wealth. 

Gadhafi lobbied hard for the return of al-Megrahi, an issue which took on an added sense of urgency when al-Megrahi was diagnosed with cancer last year. His lawyers say his condition is deteriorating and doctors have given him less than three months to live. 

Freeing al-Megrahi has divided the Lockerbie victims' families, with many in Britain in favor of it and many in the U.S. adamantly opposed. 

Al-Megrahi had been a known figure in the Scottish community near his prison, receiving regular treatment at the hospital and was visited often by his wife and children, who lived in Scotland for several years. 

Briton Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died on Flight 103, welcomed the Libyan's release, saying many questions remained about what led to the bomb that exploded in the cargo hold. 

"I think he should be able to go straight home to his family and spend his last days there," Swire told the BBC. "I don't believe for a moment this man was involved in the way he was found to be involved." 

Among the Lockerbie victims was John Mulroy, the AP's director of international communication, who died along with five members of his family. 

Associated Press Writers Tarek El-Tablawy in Tripoli, Libya, Geoff Mulvihill in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Shawn Marsh in Trenton, New Jersey, Meera Selva in London, Matthew Lee in Washington, Jessica M. Pasko in Albany, New York, and Jim Hannah in Dayton, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Scottish government yet to decide on Lockerbie bomber release

The Scottish government have said no decision has been made on releasing the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. 

Reports suggested that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi could be released next week.

The government statement followed reports that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, serving a life sentence for the bombing that killed 270 people, could be released on compassionate grounds. 

The 57-year-old is suffering from terminal prostate cancer. A court rejected his appeal for release last November, saying he could be treated at a prison hospital, but left open the door for future appeals. 

"No decision has been made on applications under the prisoner transfer agreement or compassionate early release by the Libyan authorities and Mr. Al Megrahi," the Scottish government said. "Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill is still considering all the representations in both cases and hopes to make a decision this month." What constitutes "compassionate grounds?" We want to hear your views.

Megrahi, a Libyan national, was convicted of the Lockerbie bombing in January 2001, but he maintains his innocence. 
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On December 21, 1988, the Pan Am flight exploded over Scotland as it headed from London to New York. All 259 people on board the plane died along with 11 Scots on the ground when the plane crashed in the small town of Lockerbie. 

There, prosecutors said, the bomb was transferred onto the Pan Am plane that went first to London's Heathrow Airport and then was to continue to New York. 

The prosecution maintained Megrahi, who worked at Malta's Luqa Airport, was an agent for the Libyan intelligence services and had been seen buying clothes that were in the suitcase that contained the bomb. 

Libya has formally accepted responsibility for the bombing, though Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi later denied any culpability. 

A Scottish court ruled in 2003 that Megrahi must serve at least 27 years of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. 

Megrahi has lodged an appeal of his conviction, which a five-judge review commission is still considering. 

New evidence uncovered during the commission's investigation and other evidence not submitted at Megrahi's original trial led the commission to believe that Megrahi may have suffered a miscarriage of justice, commission Chairman Graham Forbes said. While the commission has not outlined all of the six grounds for appeal, it did identify two of them in a June 2007 news release. 

The first is a finding by the commission that "there is no reasonable basis" for the trial court's conclusion that Megrahi purchased the clothes in Malta on the day alleged. It said evidence not heard at trial indicates the clothes were purchased when Megrahi was not in Malta. 

Also not heard at trial, the commission said, was evidence that the owner of the clothes shop had seen Megrahi's picture in a magazine article about Lockerbie days before he picked Megrahi out of a line-up. 
At trial, the clothes shop owner, Anthony Gauci, said the purchaser of the clothes resembled Megrahi "a lot."