Thousands protest against Lockerbie appeals ruling

Thousands of Libyans marched peacefully today against a Scottish appeals court decision to uphold the conviction of a former Libyan intelligence agent in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

Surrounded by anti-riot police, the demonstrators, most of them students, gathered in front of the United Nations office in the capital Tripoli and in a statement handed to a UN representative called on the international body to "interfere to save the political hostage Abdel-Basset al-Megrahi".

49-year-old Al-Megrahi lost his appeal on Thursday against the 2001 conviction that found him responsible for the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103, killing 270 people, over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The Scottish court was sitting in Camp Zeist, The Netherlands.