Lockerbie Bomber May Be Out Next Week

Has terminal cancer; would return to Libya
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 12, 2009 8:26 PM CDT
Lockerbie Bomber May Be Out Next Week
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, in an undated file photo.   (AP Photo / CROWN OFFICE via PA)

The Lockerbie bomber may be released from a Scottish prison and returned to Libya next week, the BBC reports. The move follows talks between Libyan and Scottish officials to arrange a compassionate release for Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer. He continues to appeal his conviction in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people. Scottish authorities say no deal has been finalized, but sources tell the BBC that Megrahi is expected to be home for the start of Ramadan.

"Any letting out of Megrahi would be a disgrace," the mother of one American victim tells the Guardian. "It makes me sick, and if there is a compassionate release then I think that is vile." (More Lockerbie stories.)

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