Decision on fate of Lockerbie bomber due next week

SCOTLAND’S justice secretary will make an announcement by the end of next week on the fate of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people, a spokeswoman said yesterday.

Megrahi, a former intelligence agent who was convicted of the bombing in 2001 and sentenced to 27 years in prison, has terminal prostate cancer.

Libya has asked that he be released on compassionate grounds to see his family before he dies.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has cancelled all engagements in order to give his full attention to the issue, a spokeswoman said, and will make a decision in the next 10 days.

“We do expect a decision very soon and he’ll make a public statement on his decision,” she said.

Megrahi, 57, denies any role in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground.

As well as Libya requesting his release on compassionate grounds, Britain and Libya in April signed a Prisoner Transfer Agreement that would allow Megrahi to serve out his sentence in Libya if MacAskill determines that can happen.

MacAskill is now trying to decide what course of action to take amid intense pressure from various sources – the Libyan government, the families of victims who died in the bombing, and the US government, which wants Megrahi to serve out his term.

In order to help him make his decision, MacAskill has asked for medical and judicial reports on the case. He has also met several times with representatives of the Libyan government and families of the victims to sound out their views.

Megrahi last week asked to have an appeal against his conviction dropped, a move that appeared to make it more likely that he will be granted compassionate release.

A Scottish court will decide today whether to accept that request.