Lockerbie Bomber Leaves Prison, Flown To Libya

制造1988年洛克比空难事件的利比亚特工周四从苏格兰一家监狱获释回国，这给英国和美国的受害者家属留下了未解疑问和愤怒情绪。Associated Press利比亚民众在机场迎接迈格拉希回国苏格兰司法大臣麦克阿什基尔(Kenny MacAskill)抵抗住来自美国政府的强大压力，决定出于人道主义立场释放迈格拉希(Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi)，让罹患晚期前列腺癌的他与家人团聚。数小时之内，现年57岁的迈格拉希登上了利比亚政府派来的包机，返回了利比亚首都的黎波里。这位英国最严重恐怖主义事件的制造者被释放的消息激起了美国方面的抗议，但很多利比亚人却对此感到高兴。利比亚政府一直敦促释放迈格拉希。这一消息也引发了遇难者家属的两种不同反应：一部分人（主要来自美国）认为迈格拉希应当在监狱度过余生，而一小部分人（主要来自英国）认为迈格拉希实际上是无辜的。美国国务卿希拉里•克林顿(Hillary Clinton)周四表示，美国政府对这一决定表示深度失望；美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)表示，他的政府已经向英国表达了不同意见，并要求利比亚继续软禁迈格拉希。Agence France-Presse/Getty Images洛克比空难现场，照片摄于1988年12月22日的黎波里当地英文报纸《的黎波里邮报》(Tripoli Post)编辑拉斯沃德(Said Laswad)表示，的黎波里大多数人都相信迈格拉希是无辜的，得知他被释放的消息后，当地街道上满是欢庆的人群。拉斯沃德说，我们都认为他是个英雄。迈格拉希被释正值利比亚领导人卡扎菲(Moammar Gadhafi)准备庆祝他发动革命上台执政40周年之际。由于被认定制造了1988年12月的洛克比空难事件，迈格拉希于2001年被判决最少27年监禁。当时，美国泛美航空公司一架客机在苏格兰洛克比上空爆炸坠毁，机上259名乘客及11名机组人员全部罹难。其中包括了189名美国公民，他们很多人都是在结束度假返家途中。迈格拉希坚持自己无罪，已经上诉了两次。迈格拉希撤销了最近一次上诉，原因之一是为了获得引渡至利比亚监狱──这是苏格兰司法大臣麦克阿什基尔此前考虑的方案之一。Alistair MacDonald / Paul Sonne / Spencer Swartz


The Libyan agent convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing returned home Thursday from a Scottish prison, leaving behind unanswered questions and anger among victims' families in the U.S. and the U.K.Defying intense pressure from the U.S. government, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill chose to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on 'compassionate grounds,' reasoning that he should be allowed to be with his family before dying of terminal prostate cancer. Within hours, Mr. al-Megrahi, 57 years old, had boarded a Libyan government jet and was on his way to Tripoli, the Libyan capital.The release of the man convicted of the worst terrorist atrocity in the U.K. elicited protests in the U.S. and elation among many Libyans, whose government had lobbied for the release. It also exposed a rift between two groups of victims' families: Those, mainly in the U.S., who believe he should have spent the rest of his life in prison, and a smaller, mainly U.K. group who believe he is innocent.On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. government is 'deeply disappointed' by the decision, and President Barack Obama said his administration had expressed its disapproval to the U.K. and asked Libya to keep Mr. al-Megrahi under house arrest.In Tripoli, where most people believe Mr. al-Megrahi to be innocent, the streets were 'full of happy people,' said Said Laswad, editor of the Tripoli Post, a local English-language newspaper. 'We all believe he is a hero,' Dr. Laswad said. Mr. al-Megrahi's release comes as Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the revolution that brought him to power.Mr. al-Megrahi was sentenced in 2001 to a minimum of 27 years in prison for his involvement in blowing up a New York-bound Pan Am airliner in December 1988 as it flew over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. On the flight were 189 U.S. citizens, many traveling home for the holidays.Mr. al-Megrahi, who maintains his innocence, has appealed his conviction twice. He dropped his most recent appeal as part of an effort to obtain a transfer to a Libyan prison - one of the options Mr. MacAskill had been considering.Alistair MacDonald / Paul Sonne / Spencer Swartz