Convicted Pan Am 103 bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland on "compassionate" grounds in 2009, ostensibly because he was expected to die from prostate cancer within three months. (The real reason, according to a U.S. Senate report, had to do with lucrative Libyan oil contracts sought by British-based oil giant BP.) In the years since, al-Megrahi has not died, and has been enjoying the company of his family during his illness. Every now and then there's another report that he is finally about to kick the bucket, and this time they swear he's really on death's door.
One relative says al-Megrahi has been unconscious and in critical condition for the past three days, since he was hospitalized on Friday. "My dad’s health is very bad and has been worsening,” al-Megrahi’s son, Khaled, told the AP on Saturday. “He is on his last breath. I don't think he can make it this time." Finally, relatives of the 246 people killed in the bombing will no longer be confronted with the fact that the one person convicted for the attack is living in luxury with his loved ones.
Actually, false alarm? Reuters reports that al-Megrahi has been released from the hospital. After a transfusion of eleven litres of blood, he "subsequently felt strong enough to return home." Still, his brother maintains, "His health is going from bad to worse, but he felt ready to go and his family took him home." Bob Monetti, whose son, Rick, was a Syracuse University student killed in the attack, tells the Daily News, "I don’t want to sound callous about it, but we’ve heard this so many times. He should have died three years ago."
