Friday, Aug. 21, 2009 | 2:08 a.m.
Scotland gave what it called a “compassionate release” Thursday to the Libyan man convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103. The plane exploded over Lockerbie, killing 270 people, including 189 Americans.
The Scottish government gave Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, 57, his release because he has terminal prostate cancer. American officials and members of victims’ families are understandably upset. The release undercut any sense of justice.
Al-Megrahi, a Libyan agent, was convicted of 270 counts of murder by a Scottish court in 2001 for the bombing. He was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison, but he walked out Thursday after serving just eight years.
Al-Megrahi was flown home on a jet reportedly dispatched by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who had strongly lobbied for his release. Thousands of people greeted the airplane at a military airport in Tripoli, where al-Megrahi was escorted off the plane to a waiting motorcade by Gadhafi’s son.
Scottish officials said al-Megrahi was being sent home to Libya to die. The law allows the release of prisoners who are diagnosed with having less than three months to live, and Scottish officials tried to treat this like any other case. This case, though, isn’t like any other.
Investigators around the world spent years tracking down leads and putting together a case that led to Libya. The country accepted responsibility and agreed to pay out $2.7 billion to victims’ families.
Al-Megrahi, however, maintained his innocence. He was protected for years by his government, which had sponsored terrorism worldwide. Al-Megrahi was turned over to Scotland to stand trial only after years of crippling international sanctions.
Now he is back home to enjoy his family and say his goodbyes — an opportunity the people he sentenced to death never had.
Scotland’s decision to release al-Megrahi and the hero’s welcome he received were disgraceful. They made a mockery of the world’s fight against terrorism and the deaths of 270 innocent people.
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