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American relatives of victims of the Lockerbie bombing reacted with fury today to reports that the Libyan man convicted of the atrocity may soon be freed on compassionate grounds.
In stark contrast, however, their British counterparts – many of whom have always doubted the guilt of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi – backed his release.
Pan Am Flight 103 from Heathrow to New York's JFK was brought down over the Scottish village of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, killing all 259 people aboard and 11 more on the ground below.
It remains the UK's worst terrorist attack but nobody was brought to justice for it until 2000, when al-Megrahi, an intelligence officer and head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, was found guilty by a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 27 years for the murder of those who died.
Video: US and British relatives split by prospect of Lockerbie bomber release - Times Online
Compassionate release my ass.
Let him die in jail.