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TRIPOLI, Libya – The former Libyan intelligence officer Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, has died in Libya, his brother told AFP on Sunday. "He died an hour ago," Abdelhakim al-Megrahi said, putting the time of death at shortly after 1:00pm local time. The UK Foreign Office could not confirm the report Sunday, however it said it was "seeking further information." Megrahi, 60, was convicted in a Scottish court in 2001 for his role in the December 1998 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Most of those killed in the bombing of the Boeing 747...

The Lockerbie bomber has been given an emergency blood transfusion following a sudden deterioration in his health, his brother revealed last night. Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal cancer, was taken from his home in Tripoli to the intensive care unit of a private hospital. The news came less than a fortnight after he celebrated his 60th birthday. He was released from prison in August 2009 on compassionate grounds with three months to live, but has survived for more than two-and-a-half years. … Last night, Megrahi's condition was not known, but his wife Aisha was...

Koussa fled Libya to Britain on March 30, seeking refuge after quitting Gaddafi's government, reportedly to show his support for the Libyan rebel uprising and to protest against attacks by Gaddafi's forces on civilians. He was questioned by Scottish police over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, but has not been under any travel restrictions. In a statement issued Thursday, Britain's Treasury said Koussa had been deleted from the EU financial sanctions list, removing a freeze on his assets. "We have done that -- it sends a powerful signal to other potential defectors that, if they are currently on a list, they...

Ministers secretly advised Muammar Gaddafi’s Libyan regime how to secure the successful early release of the Lockerbie bomber, documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph have disclosed. A Foreign Office minister sent Libyan officials detailed legal advice on how to use Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s cancer diagnosis to ensure he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. The Duke of York is also said to have played a behind-the-scenes role in encouraging the terrorist’s release. The Libyans closely followed the advice which led to the controversial release of Megrahi – who was convicted of the murder of 270 passengers on Pan...

A source close to the family of the Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset al Megrahi told Sky News Thursday his death is imminent and every day is "expected to be his last." Suffering from prostate cancer, the Libyan's health has rapidly deteriorated -- and his relatives said he has been in a coma and on life support for around a week. Al Megrahi -- who was convicted of killing 270 people by bombing a Pan Am jet in 1988 -- has been unable to walk for a number of weeks and is not expected to recover.

Britain feared that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi could “cut us off at the knees, just like the Swiss”, unless the Lockerbie bomber was released, leaked WikiLeaks cables show. Sir Vincent Fean, the UK's ambassador to Tripoli at the time, also warned that continuing to hold Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi in a prison in Scotland could have “disastrous implications for British interests in Libya”. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988. He was freed on compassionate grounds in August 2009. The warnings were contained in secret communiqués sent from US embassy staff...

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has made an outspoken attack on the United States over the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Cardinal Keith O'Brien said the Scottish government was right to free Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi last year on compassionate grounds. US lawmakers want Scottish politicians to explain to a Senate committee their decision to release Megrahi. But the cardinal said ministers should not go crawling to the US like lapdogs. Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish government's justice secretary, released Megrahi, who has prostate cancer, after being told that three months was a "reasonable estimate" of his life...

TWO CHEERS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION ON MEGRAHI Powerline blog     We noted yesterday the controversy over the Obama administration's reaction to Scotland's proposed release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohment al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds, i.e., the claim that he was about to die. Foreign newspapers quoted a letter from a U.S. Embassy official in London, Richard LeBaron, which said that the U.S. would prefer that Megrahi not be released, but that if he were to be let go, the Obama administration thought it was "far preferable" to free Megrahi than have him transferred to a Libyan jail. On its...

Terrorism: The administration says it was surprised and angry at the Lockerbie bomber's "compassionate" release. Now a letter reveals that it actually lobbied for it. Was this malicious intent or mere incompetence? Last week, at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama was asked what he thought about a possible Senate investigation into the "Lockerbie bomber stuff" — namely that British Petroleum, among its other sins, lobbied the British government to release convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in order to win oil contracts from the Libyan government. Obama replied: "I think all of us...

Scottish officials say US memo giving grudging support to freeing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi undermines president's criticisms Barack Obama is under growing pressure to release a letter that reveals the US grudgingly supported freeing the Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds. The letter was sent to Scottish ministers by a senior diplomat at the US embassy in London last August, eight days before Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released from prison because he was dying from inoperable prostate cancer. Obama's administration has refused to allow publication of the letter, in which the US says allowing Megrahi to live at home in Scotland would be "far...

David Cameron is to order the release of secret Government documents disclosing how BP pushed Labour ministers to agree to a controversial deal which led to the release of the Lockerbie bomber. The release of the confidential memos and letters could pave the way for a full British inquiry into the alleged involvement of the oil giant in the release last year of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer.

It was the worst terrorist attack in Britain's history, the deadliest assault on U.S. civilians until 9/11 and a political powder keg that roiled governments around the world. On Dec. 21, 1988, a bomb exploded in the forward cargo hold of Pan Am Flight 103, a jetliner flying from London to New York. Within less than a minute, the Boeing 747 splintered into thousands of pieces and fell 31,000 feet, smashing down in the village of Lockerbie, Scotland. The impact killed 11 villagers and destroyed 21 homes. None of the 259 people on board the aircraft survived. On August 21,...

Freed from his life sentence, the Lockerbie bomber was sent home by the Scots on compassionate grounds because he had 'just three months' to live. But six months later, Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi is still living - and doing it in the lap of luxury. Yesterday, his elderly father even held out the prospect of him beating the prostate cancer that doctors said would kill him by last Christmas. Mr Ali al-Megrahi believes that good genes, 'positive thinking' and alternative medicines could explain his son's remarkable survival. Megrahi, 57, no longer receives hospital treatment after ending a course of chemotherapy....

The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is living with his family in a luxury villa in Libya six months after he was released from jail on compassionate grounds because he had less than three months to live. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, no longer receives hospital treatment after ending the course of chemotherapy that he had been given after returning to his homeland last August. Professor Karol Sikora, the London-based doctor who examined Megrahi and predicted he would be dead by last October, admitted this weekend that the fact the bomber is still...

The council charged with monitoring the health of the Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi has refused to publish details of his medical condition, angering families of his victims. Al-Megrahi, East Renfrewshire Council has claimed, has a right to confidentiality and should be treated like any other former prisoner. The Lockerbie bomber, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, was released on compassionate grounds on August 21 last year after Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, said that al-Megrahi was thought to have less than three months left to live. Six months on, opposition MSPs, have been calling for evidence...

UK Families Flight 103, the relatives' campaign group, will use human rights laws in a bid to uncover the truth about the terrorist attack, which claimed 270 lives in December 1988. The group has hired Gareth Peirce, the prominent human rights solicitor better known for her work representing terror suspects, to devise a legal strategy to secure the inquiry for which families have long campaigned. It is the first time the families have formally hired lawyers to pursue an inquiry. The development comes after Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, rejected the group's latest demands for an independent review of the...

Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset al-Megrahi's health is deteriorating, according to a Libyan hospital source. The 57-year-old arrived at the hospital on Saturday coughing and vomiting, the statement said. "A scan has shown a worsening of the disease which has spread more than before," it added.

Mystery surrounded the Lockerbie bomber last night after he could not be reached at his home or in hospital. Libyan officials could say nothing about the whereabouts of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, and his Scottish monitors could not contact him by telephone. They will try again to speak to him today but if they fail to reach him, the Scottish government could face a new crisis. Under the terms of his release from jail, the bomber cannot change his address or leave Tripoli, and must keep in regular communication with East Renfrewshire Council. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic...

It was the worst terrorist attack in Britain's history, the deadliest assault on U.S. civilians until 9/11 and a political powder keg that roiled governments around the world. On Dec. 21, 1988, a bomb exploded in the forward cargo hold of Pan Am Flight 103, a jetliner flying from London to New York. Within less than a minute, the Boeing 747 splintered into thousands of pieces and fell 31,000 feet, smashing down in the village of Lockerbie, Scotland. The impact killed 11 villagers and destroyed 21 homes. None of the 259 people on board the aircraft survived. On August 21,...

Gordon Brown was told last night that he must seek the immediate return of the Lockerbie bomber to Britain. A senior senator in the United States has written to the Prime Minister to protest that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi's early release on compassionate grounds on August 20 was granted on the assumption he had only three months to live. Charles Schumer said that period had now elapsed and there was speculation that the severity of the Libyan's condition had been exaggerated. There is growing pressure for all of Megrahi's medical papers to be published, as well as monthly updates...

THE Scottish lawyer for Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi has denied reports saying he had died. Sky News briefly reported that Megrahi had died just after 4pm today. But Megrahi's lawyer, Tony Kelly, told Reuters: "It's absolutely untrue. He's definitely not dead."

Breaking on Fox News,the Lockerbie bomber has died.

Pittsburgh was treated to an impressive show the week of the recent G20 conference. A nice assortment of military choppers of various types and missions, along with odder aircraft difficult both to identify and explain. Both police and the National Guard were out in force, with downtown nearly sealed off. None of this hardware was used against the "3,000 - 4,000" (more like a few hundred) anarchist demonstrators when they turned their righteous wrath on a dozen Starbucks and a Whole Foods store. No serious confrontation was expected and none occurred. Because all of it - the Guard troops, the...

Back from summer recess, Congress faces continuing outrage over Scotland's release of Libyan terrorist Abdel Bassett al-Megrahi, convicted of destroying Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. How did this happen? How is it possible, at the supposed height of "Obamamania" worldwide, that Great Britain, our closest ally, would free a terrorist who killed 270 innocents, 189 of them Americans? What does this mean for our policy against terrorism? British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's own ministers now concede, despite earlier denials, that Megrahi's triumphal return to Tripoli was linked to British interest in greater trade and investment with Libya. In the...

Wasn't Barack Obama supposed to be the guy who was loved all across the world. During the campaign didn't they do public opinion polls that showed how the Obamessiah was the choice over McCain in all of our allied countries as well as our enemies? Those days are gone. Remember how he he upset the entire country of Great Britain by dissing their Prime Minister; no state dinner, no press conference and to top it all off President Obama gave the Prime Minister a crappy take-home gift, old DVDs that were in a format that couldn't be played in a...

President Obama and the US Secretary of State fuelled a fierce American backlash against Britain, claiming Abdelbaset Al Megrahi should have been forced to serve out his jail sentence in Scotland – but a senior Whitehall aide said their reaction was ‘disingenuous’. British officials claim Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton were kept informed at all stages of discussions concerning Megrahi’s return. The officials say the Americans spoke out because they were taken aback by the row over Megrahi’s release, not because they did not know it was about to happen. ‘The US was kept fully in touch about everything that...

British officials claim Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton were kept informed at all stages of discussions concerning Megrahi’s return. The officials say the Americans spoke out because they were taken aback by the row over Megrahi’s release, not because they did not know it was about to happen. ‘The US was kept fully in touch about everything that was going on with regard to Britain’s discussions with Libya in recent years and about Megrahi,’ said the Whitehall aide. ‘We would never do anything about Lockerbie without discussing it with the US. It is disingenuous of them to act as though...

EDINBURGH, Scotland — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing accuations of "double-dealing" after confidential documents were released on Tuesday revealing that Libya was told Brown wanted the Lockerbie bomber to die a free man. "We did not want him to die in prison, no, we weren't seeking his death in prison," Miliband said. Al-Megrahi, 57, was the only person convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. Scotland freed him on compassionate grounds Aug. 20 after doctors said he had terminal cancer. U.S. Justice Department spokesman Richard Kolko said Tuesday...

When the man convicted of murdering 270 people by blowing up Pan Am flight 103 two decades ago over Lockerbie, Scotland, was released, many in this country were rightfully outraged. On December 21st, 1988, 243 passengers, 16 crew members, and 11 people on the ground were murdered. Of these, 180 were Americans; 60 of them children. The bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, returned to Libya on August 20th with much fanfare enjoying a “compassionate release” due to his imminent demise from cancer. He had served 8 years of a 27-year sentence. Moreover, he was given an unfathomable level of compassion...

Attorney General Eric Holder warned his Scottish counterpart in June that the man convicted of blowing US-bound Pan Am Flight 103 out of the sky could get a hero’s welcome if allowed to return to Libya, according to the head of a group representing the families of victims. Holder’s warning to Scotland’s justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, came nearly two months before the bomber, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, was released from a Scottish prison and greeted by a cheering crowd on his arrival in Libya last week. Notes prepared ahead of Holder’s June 26 conversation with MacAskill were provided to the Associated...

Britain's release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi-- the Libyan terrorist whose bomb blew up a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 270 people-- is galling enough in itself. But it is even more profoundly troubling as a sign of a larger mood that has been growing in the Western democracies in our time. In ways large and small, domestically and internationally, the West is surrendering on the installment plan to Islamic extremists. The ostensible reason for releasing al-Megrahi was compassion for a man terminally ill. It is ironic that this was said in Scotland, for exactly 250 years ago another...

Britain's release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi — the Libyan terrorist whose bomb blew up a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 270 people — is galling enough in itself. But it is even more profoundly troubling as a sign of a larger mood that has been growing in the Western democracies in our time. In ways large and small, domestically and internationally, the West is surrendering on the installment plan to Islamic extremists. The late Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn put his finger on the problem when he said: "The timid civilized world has found nothing with which to oppose the onslaught...

If Joe Scarborough is right, this could be a game-changing blow to Barack Obama . . . On today's Morning Joe, Scarborough left no doubt that he believes the Obama administration acquiesed to the release by the British government of Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, the convicted Lockberbie murderer and terrorist. View video here.

Gordon Brown was dragged into the centre of the row over the early release of the Lockerbie bomber last night after it emerged that a key decision that could have paved the way for the terrorist to serve his sentence in Libya was approved by Downing Street. A source close to Jack Straw told The Times that the move to include Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi in a prisoner transfer agreement in 2007 was a government decision and was not made at the sole discretion of the Justice Secretary. “It wasn’t just Jack who decided this. It was a Government decision....

Many Americans, beyond the relatives of the victims of the 270 people killed, when Abdel Baset al-Megrahi blew up a jetliner over a Scottish town are furious about his release from a Scottish prison and the warm greetings extended to him when he arrived in Libya. The TV cameras showed the gala reception, Qaddafi hugging Megrahi, and Megrahi kissing the Libyan despot. Libya's leader then praised his "friend" British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the British government on Thursday for what he called their "courage" in allowing Megrahi's release. "To my friends in Scotland ... I praise their courage for...

The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal. Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards. The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely critizised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release.

Imagine how the families of those 240 dead feel now? The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal. Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards. (Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...

The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal. Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards. The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely criticised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release. The correspondence makes it plain that the key...

It's one thing to argue that we shouldn't torture terrorists. It's rather another thing to let one go to a hero's welcome. In case anyone missed it, Kenny MacAskill, Justice Minister for Scotland, ordered the "compassionate release" of Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi. Al-Megrahi was one of the persons responsible for the bombing Pan Am 103, which came down on Lockerbie. Two hundred and seventy people died, including eleven on the ground. Al-Megrahi was apparently suffering from prostate cancer, and was said to have had less than three months to live. That three months is apparently key under Scottish "prison guidance,"...

The furore over the release of the Lockerbie bomber intensified today over the medical advice given to the Scottish government on how long he has to live. It emerged that the prognosis that Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi had a life expectancy of only three months or less was supported by an unnamed doctor who had no expertise in terminal prostate cancer. The final report on al-Megrahi’s condition which went to Kenny MacAskill was drawn up by Dr Andrew Fraser, director of health and care with the Scottish Prison Service. The three-month time limit is important because Scottish Prison Service guidance...

JUSTICE secretary Kenny MacAskill was last night under pressure to reveal more details of the medical evidence that led to the release of the Lockerbie bomber, after it emerged that only one doctor was willing to say Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi had less than three months to live. Labour and Conservative politicians have demanded the Scottish Government publish details of the doctor's expertise and qualifications, amid suggestions he or she may not have been a prostate cancer expert. The parties have also raised questions over whether the doctor was employed by the Libyan government or Megrahi's legal team, which could...

August 26, 2009, 4:00 a.m. Once Upon a Time in North AfricaWhat a difference a compassionate century makes. By David Kahane I don’t know about you, but I spent the weekend beaming with pride at the fierce moral example set by a compassionate Scottish government when it freed the long-suffering Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Libyan “terrorist� convicted for the 1988 Lockerbie man-caused disaster. According to a confidential report cobbled up by the house medicos, “Mr. Megrahi suffers from general debility. . . . His sleep pattern is disturbed. He appears tired and drawn. He has . . . reported a strong feeling of isolation — cultural, religious,...

The 270 victims who died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 more than two decades ago included 189 Americans, among them dozens of college students and military personnel heading home for the holidays. Former Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was convicted of the terrorist act in 2001 and sentenced to 27 years in a Scottish prison. That's where this monster should have ended his days.

He killed 270 people. He spent a mere 11 days in person for each of the men, women and children he killed. Suggesting that compassion should supersede the severity of an attack is ridiculous and could warrant an entire essay of rebuttal, but the more egregious error (and insult) here is that a man who murdered 270 innocent people in mid-air over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988 has been released by Scotland on “compassionate grounds” because he is stricken with prostate cancer. Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi may have prostate cancer, he may want to return to Libya to see his...

The uproar in Britain over the release of the only person convicted in the Lockerbie bombing gathered momentum on Monday, with critics saying at an emergency session of the Scottish Parliament that the Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, had brought shame on Scotland and jeopardized its relations with the United States. The fury in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, echoed indignation in the United States from President Obama; the F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III; prominent senators; and relatives of those who died on Pan Am Flight 103 when it exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988, killing 270 people,...

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown is under increasing pressure to cast his opinion over the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdulbaset al-Megrahi. The Premier has so far remained silent and is facing growing anger both at home and in the US. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the PM's silence on Megrahi's release was "absurd and damaging". He said: "Although the decision to release Megrahi was a Scottish one for which Gordon Brown was not personally responsible, the fallout puts the UK at the centre of an international storm.

The man who took the decision to free the Lockerbie bomber from jail on compassionate grounds accused him yesterday of breaking an undertaking not to celebrate his release. Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the bombing, had shown “no sensitivity” to the families of those who died, Kenny MacAskill, Scotland’s Justice Secretary, told the Scottish Parliament. It was the first time that Scotland’s Nationalist administration has joined the condemnation of the triumphal scenes. Aware that Britain is caught in the cross-hairs of international outrage, Gordon Brown is expected today to urge Libya not to fête al-Megrahi further. Appearing...

It will be the biggest party Libya has ever thrown, and the whole world is invited. Whether next week’s jamboree to mark Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s 40 years in power completes his country’s journey from pariah-hood to respectability depends on one question: will the Lockerbie bomber be among the guests of honour? “Why not?,” replied one Libyan official when asked whether Africa’s longest-serving leader would invite Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to appear alongside him at next Monday’s celebrations. “It would be daft,” countered a Western official, who said that an appearance by al-Megrahi would deepen the outrage engendered in the US...

Scotland’s government faces a fight for its survival as the furore over its decision to free the Lockerbie bomber escalated last night. Opposition parties north of the Border are preparing to hold a confidence vote over the decision by Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, to free Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi. Alex Salmond, the First Minister, has confirmed that he would resign if the Holyrood vote went against him. The development comes after a weekend of fierce criticism from the United States of the decision on the ground of compassion to return al-Megrahi to Libya, where he was fêted as...

KENNY MacAskill's political career was on the line last night after the head of the FBI said that his decision to free the Lockerbie bomber had "made a mockery" of justice. FBI director Robert Mueller wrote to MacAskill to tell him he had given "comfort to terrorists" around the world as opposition MSPs planned to force a vote of censure that could result in his departure as justice secretary. Mueller called the release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi "inexplicable and detrimental to justice" as international fury grew over MacAskill's decision to free the mass-murderer convicted of killing 270 people two decades...