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Lockerbie bomber freed, returns to cheers in Libya

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-21 12:02

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi walks up the stairs to a waiting jet at Glasgow airport August 20, 2009. The Scottish government decided on Thursday to free Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi from prison on compassionate grounds as he is suffering from advanced prostate cancer and he will return home to Libya. [Agencies]

TRIPOLI, Libya: The only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing returned home Thursday to a cheering crowd after his release from a Scottish prison -- an outrage to many relatives of the 270 people who perished when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded.

Related readings: Scotland releases Lockerbie bomber Release of Lockerbie bomber disappoints US Bomber allowed to drop appeal Lockerbie bomber's release debated Libya wants Lockerbie bomber back

US President Barack Obama said the Scottish decision to free terminally ill Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was a mistake and said he should be under house arrest. Obama warned Libya not to give him a hero's welcome.

Despite the warning, thousands of young men were on hand at a Tripoli airport where al-Megrahi's plane touched down. Some threw flower petals as he stepped from the plane. He wore a a dark suit and a burgundy tie and appeared visibly tired.

He was accompanied by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who was dressed in a traditional white robe and golden embroidered vest. The son pledged last year to bring al-Megrahi home and raised his hand victoriously to the crowd as he exited the plane. They then sped off in a convoy of white sedans.

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