Lockerbie victims' relatives react to Megrahi death
- 12 years ago
Twenty four years after the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland ----the pain is still sharp and fresh.
Families of some of the 270 people killed learned on Sunday that the man convicted in the attack had died... at home surrounded by his family.
Bert Ammerman's brother Tom was on the doomed flight.
SOUNDBITE: Brother of Lockerbie victim, Bruce Ammerman saying:
"It was a despicable act that I will never forgive either administration for doing. Megrahi had the ability to be surrounded by his loved ones. My brother was blown out of the air at 31,000 feet, and we do know that some of the victims lived to impact. They didn't have that compassion."
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was sentenced to jail by a Scottish court but was was later granted early release on compassionate grounds. Scottish doctors said the former Libyan intelligence officer was suffering from cancer and had just months to live. That was 2008.
For Ammerman and many others, the move along with Megrahi's hero's welcome in Libya was an insult.
SOUNDBITE: Brother of Lockerbie victim, Bruce Ammerman saying:
"That was an act of betrayal by the British and American governments, strictly for oil and big business. It was a despicable act that I will never forgive either administration for doing. The compassion was given to Megrahi when he was given life in prison. Anything less than that was unacceptable."
Attending the NATO summit in Chicago, British Prime Minister David Cameron responded to the news.
SOUNDBITE: British Prime Minister David Cameron saying:
" I have always been clear that he should never have been released from prison. But I think today is a day to remember the 270 people who lost their lives in what was an appalling terrorist act and our thoughts should be with them and their families for the suffering that they've had."
Megrahi, seen here shortly after the Lockerbie bombing, denied any role in the attack. At his home in Tripoli, his family could be seen arranging chairs for his funeral.
For many in the U.S. and elsewhere, Megrahi's death is a final galling chapter in a tragedy that consumed their lives for nearly a quarter century.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters.
Families of some of the 270 people killed learned on Sunday that the man convicted in the attack had died... at home surrounded by his family.
Bert Ammerman's brother Tom was on the doomed flight.
SOUNDBITE: Brother of Lockerbie victim, Bruce Ammerman saying:
"It was a despicable act that I will never forgive either administration for doing. Megrahi had the ability to be surrounded by his loved ones. My brother was blown out of the air at 31,000 feet, and we do know that some of the victims lived to impact. They didn't have that compassion."
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was sentenced to jail by a Scottish court but was was later granted early release on compassionate grounds. Scottish doctors said the former Libyan intelligence officer was suffering from cancer and had just months to live. That was 2008.
For Ammerman and many others, the move along with Megrahi's hero's welcome in Libya was an insult.
SOUNDBITE: Brother of Lockerbie victim, Bruce Ammerman saying:
"That was an act of betrayal by the British and American governments, strictly for oil and big business. It was a despicable act that I will never forgive either administration for doing. The compassion was given to Megrahi when he was given life in prison. Anything less than that was unacceptable."
Attending the NATO summit in Chicago, British Prime Minister David Cameron responded to the news.
SOUNDBITE: British Prime Minister David Cameron saying:
" I have always been clear that he should never have been released from prison. But I think today is a day to remember the 270 people who lost their lives in what was an appalling terrorist act and our thoughts should be with them and their families for the suffering that they've had."
Megrahi, seen here shortly after the Lockerbie bombing, denied any role in the attack. At his home in Tripoli, his family could be seen arranging chairs for his funeral.
For many in the U.S. and elsewhere, Megrahi's death is a final galling chapter in a tragedy that consumed their lives for nearly a quarter century.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters.