Families Remember Lockerbie, 20 Years Later

(NEWSER) - With the 20th anniversary of the Pan Am flight 103 bombing upon us tomorrow, it's a good time not just to remember the victims but to salute their families for the wide-ranging changes they worked to bring about, writes Alan Levin in USA Today. “Laws on everything from lawsuits against terrorists to airport security were changed," notes Levin, along with new airline policies on how to deal humanely with the families of victims. More»

Obama called release 'a mistake'

(NEWSER) - Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi arrived in Libya to a hero's welcome today after being released by Scottish authorities, the BBC reports. Hundreds greeted him at the Tripoli airport waving Libyan flags, and he was then escorted to a private meeting with Moammar Gadhafi. "We have been in contact with the Scottish government, indicating that we objected to this,” said President Obama. “We thought it was a mistake." More»

(NEWSER) - The only person convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, has been released on compassionate grounds and will return to Libya, reports the BBC. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was sentenced to life for the murder of 270 people, but he is suffering from prostate cancer and is said to have only months to live. The Scottish regional government's decision to free Megrahi comes despite opposition from Hillary Clinton and seven US senators. More»

Scotland has final say over inmate's fate

(NEWSER) - Libya is pressing the Scottish government to OK a transfer that would allow a terminally ill Lockerbie conspirator to die at home, the BBC reports. The prisoner, who was convicted in 2001 for his role in the 1988 Pan Am bombing, would have to drop an appeal that's currently being heard if he hopes to be repatriated. The Scottish government has the final say, and victims' relatives are split over the issue. More»

It's been a year since controversial release

(NEWSER) - It's been a year since Scotland made the staggering decision to free the man convicted of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 and 270 souls over Lockerbie, and the US has a little anniversary message: Put him back in jail. White House counterterror chief John Brennan told Scottish officials that "Megrahi should serve out the remainder—the entirety—of his sentence in a Scottish prison." More»