Lockerbie bomber still alive a year after release

The quiet Scottish town of Lockerbie is determined to downplay Friday's one-year anniversary of the freeing of the Libyan man convicted of blowing up an airliner in its skies.

The Scottish government released Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet Al Megrahi from jail on compassionate grounds a year ago, allowing him to return to Libya to spend his remaining three months of life with terminal prostate cancer.

However, a year on, Megrahi is still alive, a fact fueling anger in the US - where most of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 were from - at Scotland's decision to free him.

The Libyans gave Megrahi a hero's welcome when he returned to Tripoli last year, embarrassing Britain's then Labour government.

Across Lockerbie, people want to move on - but that does not mean forgetting what happened 22 years ago.

A man told AFP on the condition of anonymity that Megrahi should have ended his life behind bars.

"I think he should have died here, and his body should have been flown back after - there are a lot of people whose loved ones aren't coming back," he said.

Others talked of alternative punishments that the Libyan should have faced rather than being sent home. Experts now say he could survive for several years thanks to new forms of cancer treatment.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill reiterated Thursday that he stands by his decision to release Megrahi because it "followed the rules and laws of Scotland."

Agencies