Lockerbie bomber: I prayed to ‘see my parents before I die’

"I am praying every day that I will see my parents before I die," the Lockerbie bomber wrote in a plea to be set free from a Scottish jail, previously secret documents released Tuesday by the Scottish government show. The handwritten letter from Abdelbeset al Megrahi to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was published as the Scottish and British governments fight back against allegations al Megrahi was released as part of a deal involving Libyan oil. Al Megrahi was released last month on the grounds that he has terminal cancer.

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Whisky boycott urged over Lockerbie bomber’s release

Americans are being urged to boycott Scottish products as continued outrage over last week’s release of the Lockerbie bomber prompted an emergency meeting of parliament. A Web site set up to vent anger at the decision to send Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi back to Libya calls on Americans to avoid travel to Scotland and cease buying Scottish products such as whisky

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Britain rejects claim that bomber release tied to UK trade deals

Britain on Friday rejected claims made by the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi that the release of the Lockerbie bomber was linked to trade deals between Libya and Britain. Saif al-Islam Gadhafi made the comments in an interview with Libyan channel Al Mutawassit, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported

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Papers: Bomber’s release ‘a betrayal of justice’

The release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi from prison in due to terminal illness was greeted with wideapread derision from newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic, with few having good words for Scottish authorities behind the decisions. Below are a selection of the opinions that have appeared in newspapers in Britain, which witnessed the 1988 atrocity, and America, where many of the families of victims live. In London, The Times says that the decision to release al Megrahi was taken with “consideration and compassion”.

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Terminally ill Lockerbie bomber released

The only man ever convicted over the Lockerbie passenger plane bombing was Thursday released and allowed to return to Libya on compassionate grounds because he is terminally ill. Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi 57 was serving a life sentence for bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, resulting in the deaths of 270 people. The White House, which has urged Britain to keep al Megrahi behind bars, said it “deeply regrets” the decision

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Compassionate release expected for Lockerbie bomber

A Scottish court is expected to release convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi on compassionate grounds, senior State Department officials tell CNN. Al Megrahi, 57, is suffering from terminal prostate cancer. He is serving a life sentence for bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people

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Lockerbie: the aftermath remembered

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi’s fate hangs in the balance. The Libyan man convicted for the 1988 Lockerbie bombings has terminal prostate cancer and, according to his lawyers, just weeks to live. Scotland’s Justice Minister Frank MacAskill is weighing up whether to release him on compassionate grounds so he can die at home; to transfer him to a Libyan jail under a prisoner transfer agreement drawn up between Libya and the UK; or whether to keep him in a Scottish jail for the rest of his days.

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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. 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

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