Libya urged not to celebrate release of Lockerbie bomber
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The British Foreign Ministry warned Libya Friday against celebrating the anniversary of the release from prison of the Lockerbie bomber.
The decision came amid reports that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi planned to visit Abdelbasset al Megrahi in his Tripoli home with a celebration held by youngsters.
Al Megrahi received a hero's welcome from crowds waving saltires when he returned to Libya a year ago.
"Any celebration of Megrahi's release would be tasteless, offensive and deeply insensitive to the victims' families. We have made our concerns clear to the Libyan government," a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
"The government is clear that Megrahi's release was a mistake...Both the current Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary made this clear at the time. Particularly on this anniversary, we understand the continuing anguish that Megrahi's release has caused his victims, both in the UK and the U.S.," he said.
However, Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has defended his decision to free Al Megrahi a year ago on compassionate grounds, on the basis he had less than three months to live.
He said: "I followed the rules and the laws of Scotland. I acted on the appropriate advice and it's a decision I stand by."
Al Megrahi had been jailed on charges of murdering 270 people, including 189 Americans when a Pan Am plane blew up over Lockerbie, southern Scotland, in December 1988.
The bomber, who has terminal cancer, was formally released on Aug. 20, 2009. He was allowed to return home after serving eight years of a 27-year minimum sentence.
Last month, the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee held an inquiry into the link between the release of al Megrahi and lobbying by British energy giant BP, which secured large energy contracts in Libya.
The committee has also invited Scottish officials and prison medical chief Dr. Andrew Fraser to speak at the inquiry, but the invitation was turned down by the Scottish government.
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