With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Court rejects early release for Lockerbie convict

Scottish judges on Friday rejected a request by the only man convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, Britain's bloodiest terror attack, to be released early from jail to spend time with his family while he is treated for prostate cancer.

Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, 56, a former Libyan intelligence officer, was jailed in 2001 after a trial under Scottish law at a special court in the Netherlands. He has always proclaimed his innocence in the explosion on board Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988, that killed 270 people, including 179 Americans. He lost an initial appeal in 2002 and a second appeal is to be heard next year. He is serving a 27-year sentence.

Read entire article at International Herald Tribune