LONDON — The only person jailed for his role in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has told a visiting Libyan official he is willing to drop the appeal of his conviction if Britain guarantees he can serve the rest of his sentence in Libya, the official said today.
Al-Megrahi, who is terminally ill with cancer, was found guilty of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in an attack that killed 270 people. He is currently fighting his conviction in Scottish court, but a Libyan Foreign Ministry official said al-Megrahi would be willing to drop the case.
“He is sick. He has cancer. There is no cure… He told me that he wants to die among his family and friends in his country,” said Abdel Atti el-Ubaidi, who is leading a Libyan delegation to London. “Al-Megrahi said that he is ready to drop the appeal if he is guaranteed that he will be transferred to Libya.”
El-Ubaidi said he had made his request to Scottish officials Tuesday. Scotland’s government has confirmed receiving the request, but has not commented on whether al-Megrahi would drop his appeal.
Scotland has said it would not repatriate him while his appeal was being heard. Scotland’s government said a decision could take three months, or possibly even longer.
Repeated calls to al-Megrahi’s lawyers over the past two weeks have not been returned.
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