Thousands Greet Lockerbie Bomber in Libya
Updated at 3:02 p.m. Eastern.
Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber by Scotland on compassionate grounds was welcomed home in Libya Thursday by a crowd of thousands.
Al-Megrahi was allowed to return to his native country to die despite American pleas to show no mercy for the man responsible for the 1988 attack that killed 270 people.
The White House declared it the Scottish decision and President Barack Obama said he hoped al-Megrahi in Libya instead of a hero's welcome.
But there was a festive atmosphere in Libya with some wearing t-shirts with al-Megrahi's picture. Others waved Libyan and Scottish flags while Libyan songs blared.
Scotland's justice secretary said freeing the bomber was an expression of the Scottish people's humanity but U.S. family members of Lockerbie victims expressed outrage.
"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."
Bert Ammerman, whose brother Tommy was killed in the bombing and who now is the president of the Victims of Pan Am 103, told CBS News that "today was the second worst day."
"The first was when Tommy died. But to see [al Megrahi] today, received like that," he said while shaking his head.
Some men outside the prison made obscene gestures as al-Megrahi's prison van drove by toward Glasgow Airport.
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."
According to a White House official, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder were among those to directly convey to the U.K. and to Scottish authorities the view al-Megrahi should serve out his term in Scotland, reports CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer.
But, as CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen notes, al Megrahi "was in a Scottish prison subject to Scottish law and that means that Scotland gets to make the final call. Remember, many Europeans don't care for the way the U.S. dispenses justice, especially when it comes to capital cases. So this is a situation where the tables are turned."
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.
In a statement following his release, al-Megrahi insisted he was wrongfully convicted. "I say in the clearest possible terms, which I hope every person in every land will hear - all of this I have had to endure for something that I did not do," he said.
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."
In his statement, al-Megrahi said he believed the truth behind the Lockerbie bombing may now never be known.
"I had most to gain and nothing to lose about the whole truth coming out - until my diagnosis of cancer," he said, referring to an appeal against his conviction that he dropped in order to be freed. "To those victims' relatives who can bear to hear me say this, they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered."
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.
Compassionate release is an established feature of the Scottish judicial system when a prisoner is near death. According to officials, there have been 30 requests for release on compassionate grounds in Scotland over the last decade, 23 of which were approved. Scotland, which is part of Britain, has a separate legal system.
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 whether he would be taken to meet Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi or go directly to a hospital for medical care.
A letter published Thursday showed that Libya had invoked human rights concerns in appealing to Scotland for al-Megrahi's release.
Abdulati Alobidi, Libya's Secretary of European Affairs, said under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - a U.N. treaty - all those deprived of liberty must be "treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."
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.
Al-Megrahi was a well-known figure in the Scottish community near his prison, receiving regular treatment at the hospital and 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.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber by Scotland on compassionate grounds was welcomed home in Libya Thursday by a crowd of thousands.
Al-Megrahi was allowed to return to his native country to die despite American pleas to show no mercy for the man responsible for the 1988 attack that killed 270 people.
The White House declared it the Scottish decision and President Barack Obama said he hoped al-Megrahi in Libya instead of a hero's welcome.
But there was a festive atmosphere in Libya with some wearing t-shirts with al-Megrahi's picture. Others waved Libyan and Scottish flags while Libyan songs blared.
Scotland's justice secretary said freeing the bomber was an expression of the Scottish people's humanity but U.S. family members of Lockerbie victims expressed outrage.
"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."
Bert Ammerman, whose brother Tommy was killed in the bombing and who now is the president of the Victims of Pan Am 103, told CBS News that "today was the second worst day."
"The first was when Tommy died. But to see [al Megrahi] today, received like that," he said while shaking his head.
Some men outside the prison made obscene gestures as al-Megrahi's prison van drove by toward Glasgow Airport.
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."
According to a White House official, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder were among those to directly convey to the U.K. and to Scottish authorities the view al-Megrahi should serve out his term in Scotland, reports CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer.
But, as CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen notes, al Megrahi "was in a Scottish prison subject to Scottish law and that means that Scotland gets to make the final call. Remember, many Europeans don't care for the way the U.S. dispenses justice, especially when it comes to capital cases. So this is a situation where the tables are turned."
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.
In a statement following his release, al-Megrahi insisted he was wrongfully convicted. "I say in the clearest possible terms, which I hope every person in every land will hear - all of this I have had to endure for something that I did not do," he said.
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."
In his statement, al-Megrahi said he believed the truth behind the Lockerbie bombing may now never be known.
"I had most to gain and nothing to lose about the whole truth coming out - until my diagnosis of cancer," he said, referring to an appeal against his conviction that he dropped in order to be freed. "To those victims' relatives who can bear to hear me say this, they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered."
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.
Compassionate release is an established feature of the Scottish judicial system when a prisoner is near death. According to officials, there have been 30 requests for release on compassionate grounds in Scotland over the last decade, 23 of which were approved. Scotland, which is part of Britain, has a separate legal system.
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 whether he would be taken to meet Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi or go directly to a hospital for medical care.
A letter published Thursday showed that Libya had invoked human rights concerns in appealing to Scotland for al-Megrahi's release.
Abdulati Alobidi, Libya's Secretary of European Affairs, said under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - a U.N. treaty - all those deprived of liberty must be "treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."
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.
Al-Megrahi was a well-known figure in the Scottish community near his prison, receiving regular treatment at the hospital and 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.
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oh thoes west!!
When asked of the importance of the timer in the conviction of al-Megrahi, FBI Task Force Chief Richard Marquise stated, "It would be a very difficult case to prove ... I don't think we would ever (have) had an indictment".
The timer fragment had never been tested for explosives residue due to "budgetary reasons". Thurman, who led the forensic investigation and identified the fragments' Libyan connection, confirmed that it was the "only real piece of evidence against Libya"
Lawyers are asking for documents relating to an alleged payment of $2 million made to Maltese merchant, Tony Gauci, for his testimony at the trial, which led to the conviction of Megrahi.
Flimsy to say the least
A statement made at that 1990 embassy meeting by a PCAST member to one of the British relatives, Martin Cadman: "Your government and ours know exactly what happened. But they're never going to tell."
I am not supporting the bombing or defending what happened, I feel for the families that lost loved ones. This was NOT OUR CALL. No more than it would be Scotlands call if a plane had exploded over U.S. soil filled with Scots. What I am saying is as much as it may make us angry and as much as we do not approve of their decision it is not our place to try to control them, we would not want them doing that here.
I think you have a very positive non bias outlook which is admarable. However as a scotts person i think it is our call (as in the people) this government have not represented the scottish people which is what they are paid to do!
They have done what they wanted to do in SCOTLANDS name. And every scottish person is being tarnished with this because of a couple of clows whom seem to forget they were put in power to represent the people of scotland and as they have failed in their moral and ethical obligation they should be removed. Only the people can do that, not individually but collectivly.
People sit back and accept this **** as if we have to.....WE PAY THEIR WAGE and substidise their luxorious lifestyle was this a decision deserving of their superstar wage. I think NOT! We are more powerful than any government together, so if you disagree make your voice heard dont sit back and tolorate this ****.
I find folk like you hysterical! Honestly! One is on a message board talking about the price of cheese and you bring up the war! Locherbie and you bring up the war, racism oh and you bring up the war!Terrorism and you bring up the war!!!!
And what i find even FUNNIER is people like you bang on about the war and how you oppose it, walking through the streets with your banners protesting the blood shed. YET you contributed! Your tax financed the war dude, so while you held the banner marching the street remember those apparent soilders (whom are in the most part considered to be the only one's killing Iraqis from an opposers point of view) you paid for the bullet dude. You paid for the bombs, then you marched the street.
All hypethetical of course as i have no idear if you marched the street but the fact remains you substidised the war and contributed significantly to the blood shed. People would do well to remember that!!!!!
Holmes: She did it on the kitchen floor with a candle stick.
Watson: Incredible Professor, Scotland Yard will be very happy that the case has been solved. How did you do it?
Holmes: Elementary my dear Watson, when you left for a few minutes to refresh yourself I peeked in the envelope containing the evidence. Now go and get my pipe and paper, I am tired of this trivial game and wish to retire to my study.
Later:
Holmes: Watson, come here quickly!
Watson: What is it professor.
Holmes: My dear Watson, I know now how President Clinton brokered the release of the two Americans held hostage by North Korea.
Watson: How? Everybody thinks it was because of Bill's good looks and appeal.
Holmes: Read the headline in today's paper.
Watson: "Ancient Birds Nest Discovered in Queens Undergarment"?
Holmes: No, this one!
Watson: "Thousands Greet Lockerbie Bomber in Libya" But what does this have...
Good God, there was a prisoner swap between the United States, Libya and North Korea.
Holmes: Yes, and Kim Jong-il will stand to profit most from this covered prisoner exchange.
Watson: But this means that President Obama was in on it!
Holmes: Of course, do you remember when Barack said that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi (the Lockerby bomber) should at least be held on house arrest?
Watson: Yes, but what of it professor?
Holmes: Houses don't exist in Libya, they all live in tents! As evidence, I have seen pictures of President Gaddafi's makeshift tents!
Watson: Brilliant professor, let us inform Scotland Yard at once.
Holmes: They already know my dear not very witted Watson.
Watson: But how?
Holmes: Let us say that they showed compassion where none existed. Next case please!
this goes to show the world what the SNP government really are anti-English and anti-US they always have been and always will be... this is why "WE" the Scottish people must rid ourselfs of this joke of Government at the next election.
a Government is elected for the people by the people in this case the "MINORITY" to speak for the people. (MYSELF AND EVERYONE THAT I KNOW WERE NEVER ASKED OUR OPINION) which in this case would have been NEVER.
Yes we were cheated out of justice by the sham that was the original trial and appeal. It is so unfortunate that we are unlikely to hear the truth as the UK/US governments do not want it to be heard. The US knew a Pan_Am plane was about to be attacked and a number of officials cancelled their 103 tickets - that stinks!