Lockerbie bomber released to Libya; ‘sentenced by higher power'

(NECN: Edinburgh, Scotland) – The only man convicted in the bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland learned learned that he would return to Libya on compassionate grounds. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who has terminal cancer, was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. All 259 passengers, mostly Americans on the way to New York, died when the airliner was blown up. Eleven people died when the aircraft crashed to into the town of Lockerbie. Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill told the public that he decided to release al-Megrahi to Libya to die, despite knowing that many would harbor deep feelings and disagreements about his decision. “Mr. al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power. It is one that no court in any jurisdiction in any land could revoke or overrule,” MacAskill said. “It is terminal, final and irrevocable — he is going to die.” MacAskill said Thursday that there had been a significant deterioration in the health of al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer. “In Scotland, we are a people who pride ourselves on our humanity. It is viewed as a defining characteristic of Scotland and the Scottish people,” MacAskill said. “The perpetration of an atrocity, and outrage, cannot and should not be a basis for losing sight of who we are, the values we seek to uphold and the faith and beliefs by which we seek to live.” MacAskill said that al-Megrahi showed no compassion to his victims, and that they were not allowed to spend their dying moments with loved ones — or even cherish their final moments. “That alone is not a reason to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days,” MacAskill said. “Our justice system demands that justice be imposed, but compassion be available.” Despite objections by the United States Department of Justice and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, MacAskill released the Lockerbie bomber. “It is my decision that Mr. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, convicted in 2001 for the Lockerbie bombing, now terminally ill with prostate cancer, be released on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya to die,” MacAskill said. Material from The Associated Press used in this report.