Scotland: Release of Lockerbie Bomber the "Right Decision"
Head of Scotland gov't defends against U.S. criticism of release
Updated 2:15 PM CDT, Sun, Aug 23, 2009
The head of Scotland's government said the U.S. was wrong to criticize the release of the only man to be convicted in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing and defended the choice to let him go as the "right decision."
The release of ailing Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was convicted for the 1988 killing of 270 people on board the aircraft, was met with rage by the victim's families and was seen as "highly objectionable" by President Barack Obama. FBI director Robert Mueller wrote the decision made a "mockery" of the families' grief.
But Scotland defended its decision to spring the terrorist from prison so he could die in his home country.
"I understand the huge and strongly held views of the American families, but that's not all the families who were affected by Lockerbie," Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond told the BCC on Sunday. "As you're well aware, a number of the families, particularly in the U.K., take a different view and think that we made the right decision."
Get more: AFP, Chicago Sun-Times
First Published: Aug 23, 2009 2:02 PM CDT
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