Free Republic

Libya will mark the first anniversary of the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi by thanking God for Gordon Brown and Kenny MacAskill, the two men who let him go. Colonel Gaddafi, the country’s dictator, has ordered prayers to mark Friday’s anniversary of the decision to free Al Megrahi from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. The Libyan leader is keen to avoid a repeat of the international condemnation sparked by the decision to give the convicted terrorist a hero’s welcome when he returned to Libya on August 20, 2009, allegedly with just three months to live.

LONDON – Activists and relatives of those killed in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing raised new questions Sunday about the medical advice that led to the release on compassionate grounds of the only man ever convicted for the deaths. Doctors claimed Abdel Baset al-Megrahi had only three months to live when he was freed from a Scottish jail last August and allowed to return home to Libya. But one year later, Al-Megrahi, who is being treated for prostate cancer, is still alive.

LONDON (AFP) – Scottish ministers on Wednesday defended their decision to free the Lockerbie bomber after renewed US anger over the release threatened to spoil the new British premier's first visit to the White House. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said he did not regret freeing Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds last August. And Salmon denied claims from US lawmakers that the release formed part of an oil deal between BP and resource-rich Libya. "If you take a decision in good faith, you don't regret it," Salmond, the leader of Scotland's devolved government, told BBC radio. He...